Posted by
Defend America on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 7:52:47 AM
Al-Qaeda No. 3 Yazid reported killed by U.S. drone
By Greg Miller and Craig Whitlock
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Al-Qaeda's third-ranking operative, an Egyptian who was a founding
member of the terrorist network and a key conduit to Osama bin Laden,
has been killed in Pakistan, according to a statement Monday from al-Qaeda that U.S. intelligence officials believe is accurate.
A U.S. official said there is "strong reason" to believe that Mustafa
Abu al-Yazid, known as Sheik Saeed al-Masri, apparently was killed by a
CIA drone strike in Pakistan's tribal belt within the past two weeks.
The official described it as a significant victory against the terrorist group.
"Al-Masri was the group's chief operating officer, with a hand in
everything from finances to operational planning," the official said.
"He was also the organization's prime conduit to bin Laden and
Zawahiri," he added, referring to al-Qaeda's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
"He was key to al-Qaeda's command and control."
Yazid, 54, was an original member of al-Qaeda's Shura leadership council, an al-Qaeda commander for Afghanistan
and served as an adviser to bin Laden for more than 15 years. More
recently, he was the group's chief organizational manager, in charge of
finances and logistics, as well as a liaison to the Taliban and other
extremist groups.
Yazid was part of the Egyptian contingent that has dominated
al-Qaeda's leadership since the network's founding. He and Zawahiri
served time in prison in the early 1980s for their role as conspirators
in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
The 9/11 Commission identified Yazid as al-Qaeda's "chief financial
manager" and said he opposed the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings "because he
feared the U.S. response to the attack." He stayed loyal to bin Laden,
however, and took on an increasingly important role in the network
after the deaths of other senior leaders in recent years.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/31/AR2010053103617.html?hpid=topnews