(Image source: ABC News)

BY LEE JIAN CHUNG

ANCHOR ANTHONY MARTINEZ

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The CIA says drone airstrikes in Pakistan killed al-Qaeda’s second-ranking official, Atiyah Abd Al-Rahman.
Here’s HLN.

“U.S. officials said Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command was killed in Pakistan. It appears that he was killed in a drone strike. He’s been running al-Qaeda’s day-to-day operations since last year. U.S. officials say his death is a huge blow to al-Qaeda because he’s been crucial to keeping ties with other terrorist groups.”

CNN reports-- Al-Rahman replaced Al Qaeda’s current leader -- Ayman al-Zawahri as second-in-command after the death of Osama Bin Laden.

“It was mainly through Rahman that bin Laden continued to issue instructions to Al Qaeda operatives around the world. These messages … were passed on in the form of draft e--mails copied onto thumb drives that were smuggled out of the compound by a courier. Bin Laden's plans sent on to Rahman included the idea of attacking the United States on the 10th anniversary of 9/11...”


Political analyst Imtiaz Gul tells Al Jazeera-- the loss of Al-Rahman is a major blow to the terrorist group.

IMTIAZ GUL, AL JAZEERA: “...I think it is a big, big setback for the organization which is being gradually marginalized with the space in Afghanistan and Pakistan shrinking. And if you look at the average age of the new al-Qaeda leaders including that of Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, they tend to be in their late thirties and early forties, even in their late twenties. That means there is a leadership crisis within the organization…”


Drone strikes have been a point of contention between the United States and Pakistan, especially after bin Laden’s death.
The New York Times reports-- this incident could add to that turbulence.

“The C.I.A almost never consults Pakistani officials in advance of a drone strike, and a Pakistani government official said Saturday that the United States had told Pakistan’s government that Mr. Rahman had been the target of the strike only after the spy agency confirmed that he had been killed.”

 

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