[Daily Mail] Afghan security forces have killed Abu Muhsin al-Masri, a senior al Qaeda leader who was on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list, Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a tweet late on Saturday.
The head of the U.S. National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chris Miller, confirmed al-Masri's death in a statement, saying his 'removal... from the battlefield is a major setback to a terrorist organization that is consistently experiencing strategic losses facilitated by the United States and its partners.' Al Qaeda's loss of al-Masri, Miller continued, 'highlights the diminishing effectiveness of the terrorist organization.'
Al-Masri has been charged in the United States with having provided material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
Al-Masri, believed to be al Qaeda's second-in-command, was killed during a special operation in Ghazni province, the NDS said. The al Qaeda operative, who also went by the name Husam Abd-al-Ra'uf, was an Egyptian national, according to the FBI. 
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