According to
reports, al Qaeda in the Khorasan's(AfPak and central Asia) operational commander, and the number #3 overall leader after OBL/Zawahiri, has been killed in a drone strike. Yes, another #3. Sheik Fateh al-Masri had replacd Abu Mustafa al-Yazid, a fellow Egyptian who was killed in another drone strike earlier this year. Both strikes took place in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally-Administered Tribal Areas(FATA) where a number of other aQC commanders had been previously killed.
Most of this appears to be coming from Pakistani sources, so I'd wait before saying it's a sure thing. If it did happen, aQC will release a martyrdom statement.
If true, this would represent another major blow to the most-wanted and most-prominent of terrorist networks. And while this may be mocked as previous reports of top aQC leaders' deaths had been("Another #3?"), it is still worth reporting given how much of our reason for staying in Afghanistan is tied into OBL/aQC. September was a record month for drone strikes when it was hardly even half-over, and it will worth reporting on if this astounding pace continues.
Across the border in Afghanistan; Hamid Karzai broke down into tears.