The Washington Post reported that the New Year's Day missile strike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of South Waziristan resulted in the death of two senior al Qaeda operatives. The al Qaeda operatives killed were Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, al Qaeda's operations chief, and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, his deputy.
Msalam and Swedan had a long history in al Qaeda. Both men are wanted by the United States for their roles in plotting the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The twin bombings killed 224 civilians and wounded over 5,000 others. Both men, along with senior al Qaeda leaders such as Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, and Saif al Adel were indicted in a U.S. federal court for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and attacks on a US.. facility. The United States put a $5 million bounty out for their capture.
The death of Msalam and Swedan serve to remind us of how long we have been at war with al Qaeda, and the reach of the terror group. Shortly before the 1998 embassy bombings, Osama bin Laden organized the International Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders and issued his fatwa that sanctioned the declaration of war on the West. The International Islamic Front is an amalgamation of Sunni jihadi groups from Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and elsewhere. Before that, bin Laden issued a fatwa declaring war on the United States in 1996.
The United States hunted Msalam and Swedan for eleven years across two continents. Prior to settling in Pakistan, Msalam served in Afghanistan and routinely returned to eastern Africa (both Msalam and Swedan were Kenyans) to plan suicide attacks, train operatives, and fundraise.
