The rumors are now confirmed. Abu Khabab al-Masri, who spearheaded Al Qaeda’s efforts at developing chemical and biological weapons, is dead, thanks to a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan. The Wall Street Journal:

Al Qaeda confirmed Mr. Masri’s death in a posting on Islamist Web sites Sunday, calling him an "expert" who left behind a generation of students. He was rumored to have been killed in a missile strike in a village in Pakistan’s northern tribal areas.


The timing of Mr. Masri’s death in the attack coincided with a visit to the U.S. by Pakistan’s new prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, who is under pressure to do more to combat Islamists on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

In a statement delivered from Heaven, a petition signed by 72 virgins expressed disinterest in al-Masri.