On the Third Hand…

U.S. Strike Killed al Qaeda Bomb Maker

He was a bit more than a bomb-maker…

ABC News has learned that Pakistani officials now believe that al Qaeda’s master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert was one of the men killed in last week’s U.S. missile attack in eastern Pakistan.

Midhat Mursi, 52, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, was identified by Pakistani authorities as one of four known major al Qaeda leaders present at an apparent terror summit in the village of Damadola early last Friday morning.

The United States had posted a $5 million reward for Mursi’s capture. He is described by authorities as the man who ran al Qaeda’s infamous Derunta training camp in Afghanistan, where he used dogs and other animals as subjects for experiments with poison and chemicals. His explosives training manual is still regarded as the bible for al Qaeda terrorists around the world.

(Emphasis mine - not sure why ABC insists on referring to him by the name he isn’t much known by…) Any rate, I’ve still got a bit of a salty taste in my mouth - “ABC News has learned” and “Pakistani officials now believe” does that to me. But I hope this one is confirmed; al-Masri is one monster we can well do without.

Hat tip to practically everyone.