Osama Bin Laden’s Successor Won’t Get The Chance to Lead

A high-ranking Al Qaeda commander seen as the likely successor to Osama bin Laden won’t get the chance. U.S. Forces bent on going after the terrorist organization,  used a drone attack to get their man- Ilyas Kashmiri, in Pakistan. Defying Pakistani cries of being a sovereign nation, U.S. forces killed Ilyas while he was in Pakistan meeting with other militants in the middle of an apple orchard. This would be the second biggest blow to Al Qaeda in the last month, along with the killing of Osama bin Laden. The death of Ilyas Kashmiri, may ease tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan, restoring trust that was severely damaged after knowledge of bin Laden being their 6 years surfaced. It is another major victory for U.S. intelligence, and the drone program.Described by American officials as al-Qaida’s military operations chief in Pakistan, the 47-year-old Pakistani was one of five most-wanted militant leaders in the country, accused of a string of bloody attacks in Pakistan and India as well as aiding plots in the West. He also has been named a defendant in an American court over a planned attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.

Washington had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his location.

One Pakistani intelligence officer said Kashmiri was believed killed along with eight other militants in a drone strike Friday close to Wana town in South Waziristan, not far from the Afghan border. A senior Pakistani security official said there “were strong indications” of his death.