Afghanistan’s national intelligence agency says a top al-Qaeda leader was killed last month in a joint U.S.-Afghan military operation that killed at least 40 civilians at a wedding party, including 12 children. Afghan officials said the September 23 attack in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province also left 22 Taliban supporters dead — among them, they claimed, was Asim Omar, who led al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the Indian subcontinent since its formation five years ago. A Taliban spokesperson rejected the claims, calling them propaganda aimed at covering up a massacre of civilians.