Phillipines Abu Sayyaf leader killed in Pakistan

Bill Roggio:

A wanted member of the Philippines-based, al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group is thought to have been killed in a US airstrike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan last week.

Abu Sayyaf operative and bomb-making expert Abdul Basit Usman is thought to have been killed in an airstrike on Jan. 14 in North Waziristan. Usman is believed to have died in the attack that targeted Taliban chieftain Hakeemullah Mehsud in the Pasalkot region in North Waziristan, an area close to the border with the neighboring tribal agency of South Waziristan.

Ten Taliban and foreign fighters were reported killed in the attack, which hit a madrassa, or religious school, used by Taliban fighters from South Waziristan who dodged the Pakistani Army operation in South Waziristan.

Usman is wanted by the United States for his involvement in multiple bombings in the Philippines and also has links to Jemaah Islamiyah, al Qaeda's regional affiliate in Southeast Asia.

What I find interesting about this development is how the Hellfire strikes are causing attrition in al Qaeda's reach around the world. They have lost fighters from several Middle East, African and Asian countries over the last few months. It is no wonder that many of them are trying to set up shop in Yemen which has also become a very dangerous place for them.

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