January 08, 2009
AlQaeda's Operation Chief In Pakistan And Aide Wasted
We hit a big fish.
Al-Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and another top aide are believed to have been killed, US sources say.Usama al-Kini and his lieutenant, Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, were both killed in recent days, US counter-terrorism officials said.
Al-Kini was believed to be behind last year's deadly attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, they said.
Fifty-five people were killed when a truck packed with explosives rammed the hotel in September 2008.
Kini also was behind a failed attempt to kill Benazir Bhutto shortly after she returned to Pakistan from exile in October 2007.
Both al-Qaeda suspects died in South Waziristan, on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, an unidentified US counter-terrorism official told Reuters news agency.
"These deaths are a significant near-term degradation of al-Qaeda's leadership," he added.
I hope they sploded real good.
h/t JWF
