A senior al Qaeda leader, Sheikh Khalid bin Abdul Rehman Al-Hasanain has reportedly been killed on Friday morning in a US Predator drone strike. Al-Hasanain, who was a potential successor to al Qaeda’s chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, was reportedly killed while having breakfast. According to reports by US officials and Jihadist forums, Al-Hussainan, also known as Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti, was killed in Pakistan. “We are happy to break the news of the martyrdom of Shaykh Khalid al-Hussainan (Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti) while he was eating his Suhoor (dawn time) meal; and we ask Allah to give him a place in paradise,” said a post on an Al Qaeda affiliated web forum. NBC News terrorism expert, Evan Kohlmann said that Al-Hasanain’s death has caused a vacuum in al Qaeda’s leadership. “Now there is no publicly recognizable candidate left to succeed Zawahiri,” he said. Al-Hasanain began fighting Jihad in 2006 and wrote many religious pamphlets. He also featured in many of Al Qaeda’s religious tapes. US drone attacks, which have been believed to kill various high-profile members of the al Qaeda, are infamous for killing hundreds of civilians and fuelling anti-US sentiment in Pakistan.
Senior al Qaeda leader killed in drone strike
