Drone Strike Kills Al-Quso

The Associated Press reported today that a CIA drone strike killed Fahd al-Quso, "a top al-Qaida leader on the FBI's most wanted list for his role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole warship."  According to the report, al-Quso served time in a Yemeni prison for his role in the bombing and was released in 2007.  The CIA carried out the attack with the authorization of the Yemeni government--part of its effort to bring the host country on board with strikes.

The strike comes just a week after President Obama authorized expanded use of drones in Yemen.  The new authority allows the government to identify targets based on their "signatures"--those patterns detected through intelligence that indicate that a target is an operative or otherwise poses a threat against U.S. interests--and not just their "personality."

SDS