A look at the Predator drone

A look at the Predator, a drone that targeted al-Qaida commander Abu Laith al-Libi in Pakistan's North Waziristan region this week.

WHAT IS THE PREDATOR?

The Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by a mobile ground control station. It is equipped with cameras, sensors and radar that can capture video and still images. It also has a targeting system and can carry two laser-guided Hellfire missiles.

It is about 27 feet long, weighs more than 1,100 pounds and can fly at up to 25,000 feet, remaining aloft for up to 40 hours. The prime contractor is General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.

The U.S. Air Force operates a fleet of roughly 100 Predators. The CIA also uses the aircraft and was closely involved in its development.

The aircraft provides almost real-time, full-motion video to its ground station. It is remotely piloted; that is, Air Force pilots control and operate the aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan from Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas.

OTHER REPORTED PREDATOR ATTACKS:

_ January 2006: Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's second-in-command, is targeted by missiles allegedly fired from a CIA Predator near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The terrorist leader is not at the site, but officials say four key al-Qaida operatives are killed.

_ December 2005: A Hellfire missile allegedly fired by a Predator kills an Egyptian al-Qaida figure, Hamza Rabia, in North Waziristan. Pakistan's army, however, maintains Rabia died in a bomb-making accident.

_ November 2002: A CIA Predator fires missiles at a building near Kabul after it is bombed by a U.S. aircraft. The dual strike kills al-Qaida military commander Mohammed Atef, one of Osama bin Laden's top two deputies.

_ Oct. 26, 2002: A Predator strikes a Taliban convoy in an effort to protect opposition leader Abdul Haq, who had led a small band of rebels into Afghanistan. Haq is captured and executed.

_ Oct. 7, 2002: A CIA-operated Predator tracks a convoy in Afghanistan that was believed to contain Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, but U.S. military officials deny permission to fire its missiles.

_ February 2002 — A CIA Predator fires on a meeting of suspected al-Qaida members near Zawar Kili in Afghanistan's Paktia province. Officials say they believe they may have killed a leadership figure; some local Afghans say peasants were killed.