Radical Muslim Preacher Who Inspired Ft. Hood Shooter Dies of Holiday Season-Related Existential Ennui and U.S. Air Strike, But Mostly U.S. Air Strike

UPDATE: Well crap. Apparently, he also mighta been killed by a reindeer. Or so I heard.

Original post tucked away:

Happy holidays:

Nasser al-Wahayshi, the Yemeni leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and his Saudi deputy, Saeed al-Shehri, were believed to be among 30 militants killed in the dawn operation in the eastern province of Shabwa, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki may also have died in the air strike which targeted a meeting of militants planning attacks on Yemeni and foreign oil and economic targets, he said.

If all the deaths are confirmed, the air strike would appear to have struck a severe blow against AQAP, seen as the most dangerous regional offshoot of Osama bin Laden's network.

"Anwar al-Awlaki is suspected to be dead," the official said of the cleric who was on the run in Yemen, where he was on the government's most-wanted list of terrorist suspects.

According to U.S. officials, the U.S. army psychiatrist who ran amok at the Fort Hood army base in Texas on November 5 had contacts with Awlaki.

It's over when we win, bitches.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 01:08 PM

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