U.S. officials confirmed today that a drone strike last week killed a senior Al Qaeda trainer — Hussein al-Yemeni — in Pakistan. Yemeni had trained Taliban and foreign Al Qaeda recruits to prepare them in attacks against troops in Afghanistan and in other locations. Yemini was considered a “significant operator,” former CIA officer Bruce Reidel said, and his death is “another sign that the pressure is substantial.” Yemini played a large role in planning the March 8 strike against CIA operatives at an Afghanistan base that killed seven Americans and a Jordanian officer. [NYT, WSJ]
