Al Qaeda # 2 killed in Pakistan

AP/Houston Chronicle:

Al-Qaida's second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, delivering another big blow to a terrorist group that the U.S. believes to be on the verge of defeat, U.S. officials said Saturday.

Since Navy SEALs stormed Osama bin Laden's compound and killed him in May, the Obama administration has been unusually frank in its assessment that al-Qaida is on the ropes, its leadership in disarray. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last month that al-Qaida's defeat was within reach if the U.S. could mount a string of successful attacks.

"Now is the moment, following what happened with bin Laden, to put maximum pressure on them," Panetta said, "because I do believe that if we continue this effort we can really cripple al-Qaida as a major threat."

A Libyan national, al-Rahman never had the worldwide name recognition of bin Laden or bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri. But al-Rahman was regarded as an instrumental figure in the terrorist organization, trusted by bin Laden to oversee al-Qaida's daily operations.

When the SEALs raided bin Laden's compound, they found evidence of al-Rahman's deep involvement in running al-Qaida.

...

The attrition of al Qaeda leadership is becoming critical to its ability to operate on a strategic level. They are probably having difficulty filling these positions with competent people. This is also effecting their command and control communications. It will probably lead to more autonomy for regional operatives.

The NY Times reports that al-Rahman was in frequent contact with bin Laden and handled most of the communications with other operatives.