Pompeo confirms No. 2 al-Qaeda leader killed in Iran, asserts Tehran giving 'home base' to terror group
Tue, January 12, 2021, 12:44 PM EST
Abu Muhammad al-Masri, the No. 2 leader of al-Qaeda was killed in Iran last summer, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed on Tuesday, though he did not say if the U.S. ordered his assassination or had a role in carrying it out.
"Today, I can confirm for the fist time his death on August 7th of last year," Pompeo said in remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The New York Times reported in November that al-Masri was "gunned down" in Tehran by Israeli agents at the behest of the United States. He was on the FBI’s "Most Wanted List" for his role in the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which left more than 200 people deal, including 12 Americans.