Renewed intelligence efforts and targeted killings by the US Intelligence community continue to take down high level leadership in al Qaeda and affiliated groups. A convoy of so called “technicals” traveling down a dirt road in northwestern Syria, was targeted by a US drone asset mere hours after 2016 ended. US intelligence had targeted the convoy, known to be transporting al Qaeda affiliated members with a number of High Value Targets (HVTs). Among those targeted was Kattab al Qahtani, a high ranking al Qaeda veteran who had close ties to Osama bin Laden. Several other ranking members of al Qaeda affiliated … Continue reading As ISIS collapses, targeted killings by US Intelligence keep al Qaeda on the run