Al-Qaida's third in command believed killed

Source: Drone strike took out co-founder who handled finances

AP Mustafa Abu al-Yazid is seen in an undated interview.  View related photos

Video   Top al-Qaida commander believed dead   June 1: Sheik Sa'id al-Masri, a co-founder of the terror network and third in command, is said to have been killed. Today show

NBC, msnbc.com and news services

updated 7:55 a.m. ET June 1, 2010

Al-Qaida's number three — a co-founder of the terror network — has been killed in Pakistan's border area with Afghanistan, according to a statement attributed to the group that was posted on Islamist websites Monday.

The statement did not say how Egyptian-born Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who was also known as Sheik Sa'id al-Masri, was killed nor did it identify a successor.

Al-Yazid was al-Qaida's financial director and ran its operations in Afghanistan. It was al-Yazid who shortly before the September 11 attacks transferred several thousand dollars to Mohammed Atta, the leader of the 9/11 hijackers. 

His death has been mistakenly reported before, but this is the first time it has been acknowledged by al-Qaida, whose statement added that his wife, three of his daughters, his granddaughter and other men, women and children were killed.

One senior U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told NBC News that al-Yazid was killed in an attack by a missile-carrying Predator drone aircraft.

Other sources told NBC's Jim Miklaszewski that the attack took place more than a week ago.  The U.S. did not want to publicize the death until al-Qaida had confirmed it, which it did Monday.

'A hand in everything'
Another official called it "a big victory" in terms of counterterrorism, describing al-Yazid as "the group's chief operating officer, with a hand in everything from finances to operational planning. He was also the organization's prime conduit to Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. He was key to al-Qaida's command and control."

"In some respects, Sheikh Sa'id's death is more important for al-Qaida operations than if bin Laden or Zawahiri was killed," said Roger Cressey, former deputy chief for counterterrorism at the National Security Council and now an NBC News consultant. "Any al-Qaida operation of any consequence would run through him."

Evan Kohlmann, who tracks al-Qaida for NBC News, added that al-Yazid "was one of the original founders of al-Qaida in 1988, and has served on the group's Shura Council since then. His death is a significant loss for al-Qaida."

A report Monday that he was bin Laden's brother-in-law was incorrect.