US military confirms death of al Qaeda commander

The US military confirmed that it killed Qari Yasin, the al Qaeda commander who was targeted in an airstrike in Paktika province, Afghanistan, on March 19. Yasin had decades of experience with jihadist factions operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the US military said he was responsible for the deaths of two US Marines in the Sept. 2008 suicide assault on the Islamabad Marriott Hotel.

Yasin’s death was first reported on March 21. The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan announced the martyrdom of Yasin one day later, and described him as a “close assistant” and a “trainer of Mujahideen.” [For a profile of Yasin, see FDD’s Long War Journal Journal report, Al Qaeda commander believed to be killed in US airstrike.]

The US military described Yasin as “a well-known al Qaeda terrorist leader responsible for the deaths of dozens of innocent victims, including two American service members” who “had ties to Tehrik-e Taliban [Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] and had plotted multiple al Qaeda terror attacks …”

The US military also confirmed that Yasin was killed on March 19 in a “counter-terrorism airstrike” in Paktika province. According to reports from the region, Yasin was killed in the district of Barmal, which is a known safe haven for al Qaeda and a host of jihadist groups in the region.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Pakistan, Taliban