Al-Qaeda chief heads White House 'hit list'

New York (Reuters):The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is authorized to kill individuals described as "terrorist leaders" on a list approved by the White House, the New York Times reported in its Sunday editions.

Killing is authorized "if capture is impractical and civilian casualties can be minimized," senior military and intelligence officials told the Times.

President George W. Bush has not waived the executive order banning assassinations, officials told the newspaper. The presidential authority to kill terrorists defines operatives of al-Qaeda as enemy combatants and thus legitimate targets for lethal force.

"The previously undisclosed CIA list includes key Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden and his chief deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, as well as other principal figures from al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups," the newspaper reported. It quoted one official as describing about 25 people listed as "the worst of the worst."

"President Bush has provided written legal authority to the CIA to hunt down and kill the terrorists without seeking further approval each time the agency is about to stage an operation. Some officials said the terrorist list was known as the 'high-value' target list," the Times said.

Spokesmen for the White House and the CIA refused the newspaper's request for comments.

The reported list follows by more than a year a presidential finding after the Sept.11 attacks on New York and Washington, providing the basic executive and legal authority for the CIA to kill or capture terrorist leaders.

"The creation of the secret list is part of the expanded CIA effort to hunt and kill or capture Qaeda operatives far from traditional battlefields, in countries like Yemen" according to the Times.