Ayman al-Zawahiri Killed in Predator Strike?
Al Qaeda number 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri was severely wounded in a US predator strike earlier this week, CBS is reporting.
Reported killed in Predator strikeAyman al-Zawahiri – the second most powerful leader in al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden’s No. 2 – may be critically wounded and possibly dead, CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan reports exclusively.
CBS News has obtained a copy of an intercepted letter from sources in Pakistan, which urgently requests a doctor to treat al-Zawahiri. He’s believed to be somewhere in Pakistan’s remote tribal areas of Pakistan. The letter refers to Sheikh Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri by name – and says that he is in “severe pain” and his “injuries are infected.”
It is reportedly written by local Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, whose signature and seal are visible on the letter. The Taliban logo and the Mehsud’s seal have been confirmed by experts as legitimate.
The letter is dated July 29 – one day after a U.S. air strike that killed al Qaeda weapons expert Abu Khabab al-Masri, and five other Arabs in South Waziristan.
U.S. authorities have said they do not have information that al-Zawahiri was present during Monday’s strike, or that he was injured. However, a counter-intelligence expert and other U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that the U.S. is looking into reports that al-Zawahiri is dead.
Link:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/ayman_al-zawahiri_killed_in_predator_strike/
From today...
9/11 anniversary: US terror threat ‘initiated by new al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri’
US intelligence officials said they had detected a potential terrorist plot timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Security is to be heightened in New York City and Washington, DC, after a “specific, credible but unconfirmed” threat was discovered, according to a statement issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
ABC News reported that officials believe the alleged plot was initiated by the new al-Qaeda chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who pledged to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden earlier this year.
Janice Fedarcyk, FBI Assistant Special Agent, said: “al Qaeda has shown an interest in important dates and anniversaries. In this instance it is accurate that there is credible, specific but unconfirmed information.”
President Barack Obama was briefed on the information earlier on Thursday and requested that counterterrorism officials step up their response to the suspected threat, according to White House spokesmen.
Link:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/september-11-attacks/8751509/911-anniversary-US-terror-threat-initiated-by-new-al-Qaeda-chief-Zawahiri.html
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