Link updated and more info added
There are rumors afoot that Abu Al Yazid, the No. 3 man in the Al Qaida heirarchy was killed in a drone zap in Pakastain in the last two weeks. He was rumored to have been killed in 2008. This time however, some of the radical websites are putting forth info to indicate that maybe this time we got the little goat lover.
He was put in charge of the Al Qaida Afghan operations due to his fluency in Pashtu and his excellent manners, seems the arabic Al Qaida operatives rubbed the Taliban locals the wrong was being seen as arrogant and abrasive.
With his, hopefully permanent, demise, the drones have nabbed another Al Qaida big turban.
From MSNBC
Al-Qaida's number three -- a co-founder of the terror network -- has been killed in Pakistan's border area with Afghanistan, according to a statement attributed to the group that was posted on Islamist websites Monday.
The statement did not say how Egyptian-born Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who was also known as Sheik Sa'id al-Masri, was killed nor did it identify a successor.
Al-Yazid was al-Qaida's financial director and ran its operations in Afghanistan. It was al-Yazid who shortly before the September 11 attacks transferred several thousand dollars to Mohammed Atta, the leader of the 9/11 hijackers.
His death has been mistakenly reported before, but this is the first time it has been acknowledged by al-Qaida, whose statement added that his wife, three of his daughters, his granddaughter and other men, women and children were killed.
One senior U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told NBC News that al-Yazid was killed in an attack by a missile-carrying Predator drone aircraft.
Other sources told NBC's Jim Miklaszewski that the attack took place more than a week ago. The U.S. did not want to publicize the death until al-Qaida had confirmed it, which it did Monday.
Another official called it "a big victory" in terms of counterterrorism, describing al-Yazid as "the group's chief operating officer, with a hand in everything from finances to operational planning. He was also the organization's prime conduit to Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. He was key to al-Qaida's command and control."
"In some respects, Sheikh Sa'id's death is more important for al-Qaida operations than if bin Laden or Zawahiri was killed," said Roger Cressey, former deputy chief for counterterrorism at the National Security Council and now an NBC News consultant. "Any al-Qaida operation of any consequence would run through him."
Evan Kohlmann, who tracks al-Qaida for NBC News, added that al-Yazid "was one of the original founders of al-Qaida in 1988, and has served on the group's Shura Council since then. His death is a significant loss for al-Qaida."