Jihadi social media: Khorasan Group leader Muhsin al-Fadhli killed in U.S. airstrikes in Syria

Hotair ^ | 09/23/2014 | AllahPundit

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A brief but important follow-up to Ed’s item this morning. You probably don’t recognize the name in the headline; until recently, I didn’t either. In fact, the name of the Khorasan Group itself wasn’t leaked to the media until last week, although James Clapper had alluded months ago to unnamed AQ operatives inside Syria wanting to hit the U.S. from afar.

Turns out al-Fadhli has been on U.S. intel’s radar for a loooong time, though. And now he’s dead — maybe.

Among the Al Nusrah Front positions targeted in the bombings are locations where members of the so-called “Khorasan group” are thought to be located. Ayman al Zawahiri, the emir of al Qaeda, sent the group to Syria specifically to plan attacks against the US and its interests. The group, which takes its name from al Qaeda’s Khorasan shura (or advisory) council, is reportedly led by Muhsin al Fadhli, an experienced al Qaeda operative who has been involved in planning international terrorist attacks for years.

Al Fadhli’s presence in Syria was first reported by the Arab Times in March. Shortly thereafter, The Long War Journal confirmed and expanded on this reporting. [See LWJ report, Former head of al Qaeda's network in Iran now operates in Syria.] The Long War Journal reported at the time that al Fadhli’s plans “were a significant cause for concern among counterterrorism authorities.”…

Unconfirmed reports on jihadist social media sites say that al Fadhli was killed in the bombings. Neither US officials, nor al Qaeda has verified this reporting. The fog of war often makes it difficult to quickly confirm whether an individual jihadist has been killed, wounded, or survived unscathed.

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My knee-jerk reaction is that jihadis wouldn’t be touting a victory for America unless there was some truth to it, although I suppose the death rumors could just be a way to throw western spies off his trail while he slips out of the country.

[jimmygrace]

See Obama? You want to get your favorability numbers up? Just listen to your generals and intelligence and stop being such a liberal tool! Be humble and realize that you’re not the smartest guy in a room, not by a longshot.