Head of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan Reported Killed in Pakistan (Update: Maybe...)

By Andrew Cochran

Media sources are reporting that Pakistan security forces have killed the general head of al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. “Shaykh Saeed” and "Abu Saeed al-Masri"), in in a clash in the Bajaur tribal area in northwestern Pakistan. If confirmed, this would be a major triumph for Pakistani forces and an important blow to al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As Evan Kohlmann reported in his NEFA Foundation dossier posted on June 6, al-Yazid was a co-founder of al-Qaida in 1989 and is considered quite close to Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. He has been implicated by other Al-Qaida members in sworn testimony as playing a critical role in the financing and coordination of Al-Qaida’s international terrorist operations, including allegedly the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. It was al-Yazid who made numerous important announcements from al Qaeda to the world, including al Qaeda's claim of responsibility for the June 2 suicide bombing attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan and the recent killing of Egyptian Al-Qaida commander "Abu Khabab al-Masri" (a.k.a. Midhat Mursi al-Sayyid Umar) in a U.S. airstrike.

As with all media reports of the deaths of major al Qaeda figures, we need to wait for confirmation of al-Yazid's death. The SITE Intelligence Group reports, "Jihadists on password-protected al-Qaeda-affiliated forums such as al-Ekhlaas and al-Hesbah have expressed their skepticism with the reports of Yazid’s death, and await confirmation from al-Qaeda or al-Fajr Media Center."

UPDATE: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross: "I am extremely skeptical of the claim of Abu Saeed al-Masri's death, as are my contacts in the IC (intelligence community)." And note this from the Pakistani "Dawn" news site (thanks to Rick): "A senior intelligence official identified the militant as an Egyptian known as Abu Saeed and said he was believed to be a close aide of al-Qaida No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri. He said authorities had intelligence the militant had died but did not have the body. Two Taliban spokesmen contacted by The Associated Press in Afghanistan, Qari Yousef Ahmadi and Zabiullah Mujahid, said Tuesday that they had no information about it."

And the National Intelligence Officer for Transnational Threats, Ted Gistaro, spoke at the Washington Institute today. Michael Jacobson has posted on his prepared remarks, and Gistaro also noted that al Qaeda has "replenished its bench of skilled mid-level lieutenants capable of directing its global operations," and "has developed succession plans, can reshuffle leadership responsibilities, and promote younger commanders with years of battlefield experience to senior positions." So while al-Yazid's death would be "an important blow," as I characterized it above, it would not be a "critical blow" to operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

NEFA Foundation Photo of al-Yazid

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