Targeted deaths curb al-Qaida's expansion

AP on Yahoo ^ | 9/18/09 | Paisley Dodds - ap

[NormsRevenge]

LONDON – Recent targeted attacks that killed militants in Somalia, Indonesia and Pakistan have chipped away at al-Qaida's power base, sapping the terror network of key leaders and experienced operatives who train recruits and wage attacks.

Intelligence officials said Friday that the military strikes have reduced al-Qaida's core leadership to only a handful of men and diminished its ability to train fighters. This, they said, has forced al-Qaida to turn to its global affiliates for survival.

The killings of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in Somalia, Noordin Muhammed Top in Indonesia and Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan — all in recent weeks — have been the latest blow.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject, said the deaths deal "a major near-term blow to their respective militant groups."

[SandRat]

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject, ..

THEN KEEP YOUR PIE HOLE SHUT MAGGOT!

[Marine_Uncle]

Send them more UN trucks./sarc.