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January 8, 2009 8:35 PM

Two Top Al Qaeda Operatives Killed

Posted by Bob Orr
A U.S. counterterrorism official confirms that two al Qaeda operatives, who were on the FBI's most wanted terrorists list, have been killed in a missile strike in Pakistan's tribal areas.

(FBI)
The dead are identified as Usama al-Kini, al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan, and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, a top lieutenant.

At left: Al-Kini and Swedan (right) are seen in artificially age-enhanced images from an FBI Most Wanted poster.

Both men were involved in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa, and more recently they had been tied to a string of suicide attacks in Pakistan, including last September's car-bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. Kini also was behind a failed 2007 assassination attempt on former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

U.S. officials will not comment on the specifics of the missile strike which was carried out by a predator drone Jan. 1.

Kini is described as being "among the top 12 al Qaeda operatives." Salim Swedan was a lower ranking member of bin Laden's group.
Tags:
al quaeda ,
bin laden ,
terrorism ,
embassy bombing
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Add a Comment See all 30 Comments
by mydiatribe January 11, 2009 7:36 PM EST
Hooray for the Predator Drone for
taking out the Trash!
Reply to this comment
by unlresources January 10, 2009 4:44 PM EST
usclimey:

The first U.S. footprint for Vietnam actually started in September 1950 with Truman sending the MAAG (Military Assistance Advisory Group) to supervise U.S. assets/equipment. With the defeat of the French, Eisenhower brought forth the Domino theory when referring to the expansion and spread of the Communist threat to the world. Kennedy, LBJ, and Nixon would later escalate it further to the war we have read about.
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by unlresources January 10, 2009 4:25 PM EST
Outstanding, glad to hear our missile strikes showing some results. This will definitely keep Al Qaeda and others wishing the US harm looking to the skies. It''s a bird, no it''s a plane, no it''s a predator drone with missiles!!!
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by usclimey January 9, 2009 2:21 PM EST
12 year-long Vietnam war. Which was started by Democrats.

Posted by AlanW1077

Funny - I thought Eisenhower was a republican - thanks for putting me right on that.
Reply to this comment
by questionnews January 9, 2009 2:03 PM EST
Is anyone gullible enough to truly believe that the military & CIA is going to operate any differently fighting Al Qaeda when Obama take office?? If you do..........FISH ON!!! Obama isn''t stupid! He knows what''s at stake & will be just as aggressive at taking out terrorist as the US has been the last few years.

I''m looking forward to those that have bashed Bush for what & how the military & CIA has been used against Al Qaeda the last few years. Will they bash Obama for operating the exact same thing?
The hypocrisy will be fun to watch.

Reply to this comment
by renonv5 January 9, 2009 1:57 PM EST
Two Top Al Qaeda Operatives Killed

Finally some good news!
Reply to this comment
by washcapitals January 9, 2009 11:56 AM EST
Aww man they just killed two of Obama''s closest friends!
Reply to this comment
by dedummer1 January 9, 2009 10:51 AM EST
These two were nothing more than serial killers that prayed mostly on innocent civilians. They did it in the name of a cause that gave them access to justification for out and out murder.
Reply to this comment
by tincup356 January 9, 2009 10:15 AM EST
the link between 911 and Iraq is clear both acts done by the same man...GW BUSH.
Reply to this comment
by tincup356 January 9, 2009 10:01 AM EST
there is a link to 911 and Iraq....GW BUSH....and the smell gets worse from there.
Reply to this comment
by bigsk8fan January 9, 2009 9:31 AM EST
hey george w bush, what about osama bin laden? you have spent more time at war than all of world war II. and still no bin laden. why are we fighting in iraq, where there was NO link to the 9/11 attacks? what a big republican size failure. just as big as a republican sized national debt!
Reply to this comment
by koopa98 January 9, 2009 9:02 AM EST
And some civilians no doubt that has further alienated 28 million people and given the taleban some new recruits.
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by allulosers January 9, 2009 7:21 AM EST
Great job to the coordinated intel efforts of the CIA, the military, and contractors that put all of this together.

And "Kudos" go out to President Bush as well for wanting to nail as many of these basstards as he can before he leaves office.
Reply to this comment
by themooniac January 9, 2009 5:39 AM EST
alanw1077:Republican Eisenhower & Allen Dulles committed the first advisors to Vietnam, read your history.
Reply to this comment
by alanw1077 January 9, 2009 5:15 AM EST
anon00, you%u2019re just a worthless Jihadist apologist and not worth my time. I care about saving US lives, while you want to kill Americans. You are scum.
Reply to this comment
by alanw1077 January 9, 2009 5:13 AM EST
The CIA doesn''t kill. The CIA helps the military operate the drones. The military kills. The drones just do the job that we COULD do using planes and helicopters. The drones save US lives. They keep us from risking US lives to kill terrorists. I guess you''d prefer us to risk US pilots and get a bunch of men killed going after these scum, but the vast majority of Americans and most in Congress disagree with you. I know the people who make the drones; they are honorable people who are saving lives. You, on the other hand, aren''t worth the electricity it takes to power your PC
Reply to this comment
by alanw1077 January 9, 2009 5:09 AM EST
some_reality , wrong. Sorry, but you are an ignorant idiot. Most of America''s wars have been undeclared, including the 12 year-long Vietnam war. Which was started by Democrats.
Reply to this comment
by some_reality January 9, 2009 5:03 AM EST
wvu7462, it is not the job of the CIA to kill. This is what the CIA web site states in its Q&A page:

"Q: The CIA has been accused of conducting assassinations and engaging in drug trafficking. What are the facts?

A: The CIA does neither. Executive Order 12333 of 1981 explicitly prohibits the CIA from engaging, either directly or indirectly, in assassinations."

If it is military action, then we should send in the military and let''s abide by international law and the Geneva convention. We, as citizens, have to pay attention to what our government is doing and not just assume that what it''s doing is legal and moral.
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by some_reality January 9, 2009 2:18 AM EST
AlanW1077, sorry to hear that you''re willing to let our government kill people who are "suspected" of crimes. Just because you call it a war, doesn''t make it a war. The Congress has to actually declare war on somebody. You can''t just start killing people because you coined a new term with "War" in it.
Reply to this comment
by alanw1077 January 9, 2009 2:13 AM EST
My favorite quote tonight from our resident Jihadist: Rusure refers to Al Qaeda as--are you ready for this--"imaginary". I''m sure the 50,000 loved ones of the 3000 Americans killed by AQ on 9-11 would really love to hear how their loved one''s murderers are simply "imaginary", not unlike fairies and elves and unicorns.
As Penn and Teller would say , %u201CWhat a complete and total as*shole you are.%u201D

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