Analysis: Without Belmokhtar, Jihadi Networks Would Suffer -- Reuters
Nearly two years after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the death in Mali of Algerian commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, if confirmed, would be a serious blow to al Qaeda's efforts to recover its cohesion as a force for global jihad.
Official sources question how far al Qaeda's leadership is able to influence its branches in far-flung North Africa, arguing that an intensive U.S. drone campaign on its presumed haven in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan has severely damaged its ability to exercise command and control.
But Belmokhtar - whom Chad said its forces had killed in northern Mali on Saturday - nonetheless represented an important link to the jihadi organization's roots, having trained in Afghanistan in the early 1990s, where according to two former mujahideen commanders he was close to al Qaeda.
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Update: Al-Qaeda leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar 'killed in Mali' as Chadian armed forces destroy terrorist base -- Daily Mail
My Comment: It looks like reports of his death were premature. Monitoring groups are now reporting that he is in fact alive.
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