Multiple news outlets are citing an unnamed senior U.S. official saying that Abu Hafs al-Shahri, the chief of al-Qaeda's Pakistan operations, was killed earlier this week. And ABC News' Jake Tapper's report connected the news to a drone strike that occurred on Sept. 11: "The administration does not confirm the use of predator drones, but on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a drone fired two missiles at a car as it entered a compound in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, killing three militants." The Associated Press also makes the same assumption that he was killed by a drone strike, but notes that "U.S. officials refused to confirm the method since the drone program is classified." 

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Erik Hayden