Jake Tapper reports on an air strike delivered to the leadership of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen by undisclosed forces this morning. Among the 30 believed to be killed (H/T for the number – Ed Morrissey):
- Anwar al-Awlaki, who offered advice to Hasan Nidal on whether he should murder his fellow US Army soldiers.
- Nasser al-Wahayshi, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
- Saeed al-Shehri, the #2 guy of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. As Jake noted, al-Shehri was transferred from Guantanamo Bay to Saudi custody in November, 2007 to go through the “Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Centre for Care and Counseling”, a “12-step” plan to rehabilitate terrorists, but instead returned to Al Qaeda.
Whether it was the US Air Force, the US Navy, the US Marines or the Yemeni Air Force (I don’t think the US Army is operating in Yemen) that delivered justice to the clan, it is a welcome early Christmas present.
Revisions/extensions (9:24 pm 12/24/2009) – DrewM notes that this is the second strike on Al Qaeda in Yemen in the past week. I seem to recall these being a regular occurrence between late 2001 and early 2004, and I missed these over the last 6 years.
Also, thanks for the link, Ed.
