Senior Al Qaeda Leader Killed By U.S. Air-Strike In Syria

NYT: Qaeda Cell Leader Killed in Airstrike in Syria, Pentagon Says

WASHINGTON — A military airstrike in northwest Syria has killed the leader of a shadowy Qaeda cell that American officials say has been plotting attacks against the United States and Europe, the Pentagon announced on Sunday.

The leader, Sanafi al-Nasr, a Saudi citizen, was the highest-ranking leader of a network of about two dozen veteran Qaeda operatives called the Khorasan Group, and the fifth senior member of the group to be killed in the past four months. His death was announced in a Pentagon statement describing Thursday’s operation, which American officials said was a drone strike.

More News On A Senior Al Qaeda Leader Killed By U.S. Air-Strike In Syria

US military confirms it killed senior al Qaeda strategist Sanafi al Nasr in airstrike in Syria -- Long War Journal
Pentagon says al Qaeda financier killed in Syria air strike -- Reuters
Khorasan Group leader dead in Syria air strike: US -- AFP
Pentagon says leader of al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria was killed in airstrike -- Washington post
Top al Qaeda leader Sanafi al-Nasr killed in U.S. airstrike, Pentagon says -- CNN
Khorasan Group leader killed in strike, US says -- FOX News
U.S.: Al-Qaeda leader killed in Syrian airstrike -- USA Today
U.S. Says al-Qaeda Linked Money Man Killed in Northwest Syria -- Bloomberg
Senior Al-Qaeda leader killed in Syria airstrike -- RT

Al-Qaeda Terrorist Groups Have Reaped Millions From Kidnapping Ransoms As The UN Moves To Curb Such Payments

French hostages were released in October amid wide speculation a ransom was paid

UN Urges End To Ransom Payments To Terrorist Groups -- BBC

The UN Security Council has approved a resolution urging countries to stop paying ransoms to terrorist groups.

The UK-drafted resolution is designed to put pressure on governments.

The British UN ambassador said al-Qaida-linked groups had made at least $105m (£63m; 77m euros) in ransoms for hostages in three-and-a-half years.

The resolution did not introduce new legal obligations as states are already required not to pay kidnap ransoms under an agreement adopted in 2001.

It was passed unanimously by the 15-member Security Council on Monday.

Read more ....

More News On Al-Qaeda Terrorist Groups Reaping Millions From Kidnapping Ransoms As The UN Moves To Curb Such Payments

Al-Qaeda Terrorist Groups Have Reaped Over $100 Million From Kidnapping Ransoms -- Huffington Post/AFP
World Paid Terrorists $105M in Ransoms in 3.5 Years -- Newser
UN to discourage payment of kidnap ransoms -- Euronews
UN moves to curb ransom payouts benefiting terrorist groups -- Voice of Russia
Financing al-Qaeda, the price of kidnapping -- Yemen Post

Al Qaeda Inc

Criminal syndicates are trafficking drugs into Europe through Africa -- and they're using terrorist groups like al Qaeda to do it. Duenas/Getty

Cocaine, Kidnapping And The Al-Qaeda Cash Squeeze -- The Telegraph

Hit by a global crackdown on their wealthy financiers, Bin Laden's followers have been forced to abandon their Koranic principles to pursue their holy war.

The three al-Qaeda agents assured the Colombians that they would have no problem moving their shipment of European-bound cocaine through the Islamist badlands of the Sahara.

As supporters of the terrorist organisation's North African branch, they would guarantee shipment of the drugs through territory they controlled - so long as they were paid fee of $2,000 per kilo.

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My Comment: It is all about the money. Take it away .... and you end up being closed by your creditors.

Is Al Qaeda Bankrupt?

Is Al Qaeda Bankrupt? Authorities Cripple Group by Cutting Off Money Supply -- Daily Finance

For much of the past decade, Western governments have waged war against al Qaeda, trying to find a way to undermine the terrorist organization and its infamous head, Osama bin Laden. Yet, for all their work on the Internet or in the field, the most successful battleground may well be in the bank. As international efforts to track down and close off the organization's flow of money have borne fruit, al Qaeda's central leadership has increasingly found itself cut off from a source of power.

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My Comment: A rather good but brief summary on where to hit Al Qaeda on where it counts .... the pocket book. But after 9 years of tracking and trying to stop Al Qaeda's money flow .... I would like to believe that some success has been achieved. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Al Qaeda still has the unique ability to not only know how to survive but to also find ways to sustain itself and to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

As long as there are many who support its goals .... and there are many .... money and resources will be the least of its problems.

Is Al Qaeda Bankrupt?

From Forbes Magazine:

Jihadists had a name for Abd al Hamid al Mujil--"the million dollar man." Al Mujil had forged a personal relationship with Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, spending parts of the late 1990s in Afghanistan. In those days the Kuwaiti-born al Mujil traveled to various Arab countries to meet with bin Laden's deputies. As recently as 2006 al Mujil conducted fundraising in Saudi Arabia, where he was executive director of the eastern province branch of the International Islamic Relief Organization, a charitable group. He provided donor funds directly to al Qaeda, says the U.S. government, and was particularly focused on helping al Qaeda affiliates in the Philippines by handing out cash to a supporter who pretended to be on an Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. These days al Mujil is out of business.

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My Comment: Since 9/11 the focus has always been to cut off Al Qaeda's money train. After almost 10 years .... I guess they are now finally making some headway.