UPDATE: Al Qaeda’s Afghanistan Leader Not Killed in July Airstrike

Despite reports from Pakistan, al Qaeda’s Afghanistan commander Sheik Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. Sheik Saeed, Abu Saeed al-Masri) was apparently not killed in a strike by Pakistan security forces. The intelligence community had been skeptical of the reports from the beginning.

Not only was Al-Yazid not eulogized, as AQ usually does, his signature was found on a eulogy from Ayman al-Zawahiri for two top commanders, Abu Khabab al-Masri (a.k.a. Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar) and Abu Abdullah al-Shami, who were recently killed.

Al-Yazid, also believed to be AQ’s paymaster, would have been the most senior AQ leader killed since last month when Abu Khabab al-Masri, who was the terrorist group’s chemical weapons and bomb expert was killed by a US airstrike in South Waziristan.