Al-Qaeda's Number 2 Killed In 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 ... 2017, 2020

From the mouth of Mossad:

• Al Qaeda’s No. 2, Accused in U.S. Embassy Attacks, Was Killed in Iran - New York Times
• US, Israel worked together to track and kill al-Qaida No. 2 - AP

The United States and Israel worked together to track and kill a senior al-Qaida operative in Iran earlier this year, a bold intelligence operation by the two allied nations that came as the Trump administration was ramping up pressure on Tehran.

Four current and former U.S. officials said Abu Mohammed al-Masri, al-Qaida’s No. 2, was killed by assassins in the Iranian capital in August. The U.S. provided intelligence to the Israelis on where they could find al-Masri and the alias he was using at the time, while Israeli agents carried out the killing, according to two of the officials. The two other officials confirmed al-Masri’s killing but could not provide specific details.

The story is laughable. If any important al-Qaeda guy had been killed last August Trump would have screamed about it during his campaign from the top of his lungs.

• Iran denies report al Qaeda operative killed in Iran - Reuters

Twelve years ago we already joked about all the fake "Al-Qaeda No.2 killed" stories which appeared in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

There have since been quite a few more of these:

• Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader is killed in Pakistan, U.S. officials say - August 27 2011 / Washington Post
• NATO says Al Qaeda's No. 2 in Afghanistan killed in airstrike - May 29 2012 / LA Times
• White House: Al Qaeda No. 2 leader is dead - June 6 2012 / CNN
• Al-Qaeda No. 2 in Yemen dies from wounds - January 25 2013 / News.au
• Al Qaeda's second in command killed in Yemen strike; successor named - June 16 2015 / CNN
• Al-Qaeda Confirms No. 2 Leader Killed In U.S. Drone Strike - March 03 2017 / Rferl

Being Al-Qaeda's number 2 is a dangerous job!

As No.2 one might be media-killed anytime the U.S. seeks a pretext to ramp up sanctions on Iran.