This One Is Big

If true, this is a big win against al-Qa'ida.

The Long War Journal is reporting that Ilyas Kashmiri was killed yesterday in a Predator strike in South Waziristan.  Although Bill Roggio's U.S. intelligence sources couldn't confirm he was killed, a spokesman for Harkat-ul Jihad Islami told Pakistan's Dawn that Kashmiri was killed.  Kashmiri was considered one of al-Qa'ida's most effective operational commanders and a possible successor to bin Lade.

As I noted before, bin Laden's death by itself is not likely to cripple or defeat al-Qa'ida.  But the killing of experienced, competent subordinate commanders like Kashmiri is an important step towards that goal.

(And yes, this news makes the headline of the post below look really inopportune.  But please remember that was in reference to drones as an intelligence tool in counterinsurgency rather than as a weapon in a targeted killing campaign).