Washington: The Pentagon said on Saturday a US air strike in Afghanistan had killed an al-Qaeda militant who was responsible for the death of two American service members and accused of involvement in a deadly attack on a bus carrying Sri Lanka's cricket team in 2009.

The Pentagon said in a statement the strike took place on March 19 in Paktika province and killed Qari Yasin, "a well-known al[-Qaeda] terrorist leader", who had ties to the Tehreek-e-Taliban, also known as the Pakistan Taliban.

A Pakistani police officer stands on the roof of Marriott hotel in Islamabad a day after a truck bombing on September 21, 2008. It was one of the biggest terrorist attacks in the country. Credit:AP

"The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice," US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in the statement.

It said that Yasin was responsible for a 2008 bombing on a hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, which killed dozens of people including two American service members.