 As President Barack Obama and his administration wake up to sequester drama, they can revel in some news in the world's fight against terrorism. According to a Mar. 1 Reuters report, one of the most powerful commanders of al Qaeda's north Africa wing (AQIM) Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, a former smuggler turned "jihadist" is dead.
| Do we have a severed head? If not 48 hour rule applies... |
| Abou Zeid was the chief rival to Mokhtar Belmokhtar for the title of Sheikh of the Burning Sands. |
Algeria's Ennahar television reported that the former commander was killed in an operation against Islamist fighters in Mali. He was reportedly among 40 militants killed earlier this week near the Algerian border, where French and Chadian troops have been trying to dislodge them.
| Sounds like the French successfully dislodged Abou's head from his shoulders... |
Neither French, nor Malian, Algerian or Chadian officials have confirmed Abou Zeid's death, but a French army official confirmed that about 40 Islamists where killed over the last week.
According to the New York Times, however, an American official said that the "reports that Mr. Abou Zeid had been killed appeared to be credible and that Washington would view his death as a serious blow to the Al Qaeda wing." |