Al-Qaeda’s senior commander’s killing divulges deep ties with Iran

Islam Mohamed

The latest killing of Abi Mohamed al-Masri, one of the top commanders of al-Qaeda, came to give insights into relations between his terrorist organization, on one hand, and Iran, on the other.

Iran is by far the staunchest sponsor of terrorism around the world.

Al-Masri, the second-in-command inside al-Qaeda and a mastermind of the attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa, was killed almost three months ago, some intelligence officials said on November 14.

He was killed on one of the streets of Iranian capital, Tehran by two unknown militants, who shot him dead on August 7.

Al-Masri’s killing took place on the anniversary of the attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

American planning

According to an intelligence report, al-Masri’s killing was planned by the U.S. and Israel.

The Americans and the Israelis kept track of him and other al-Qaeda commanders in Iran for some time before carrying out the operation, the report said.

However, al-Qaeda has not confirmed al-Masri’s death yet. There has not been any claim of responsibility for his killing from any country.

Killed at 58, al-Masri was one of the founding commanders of al-Qaeda. He was killed together with his daughter, Mariam, who is the widow of Hamza, a son of al-Qaeda’s founder Osama bin Laden.

Al-Masri was on a list of wanted figures by the FBI. He was accused by the U.S. of masterminding the attacks on its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The attacks left 224 people dead.

The FBI set a financial reward of $10 million for those who would provide information that leads to his arrest.