Maybe. Or maybe not. The most revealing aspect of this report is that Zawahiri “roams openly and with impunity in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.” “Manzoor: Al Qaeda No. 2 hiding in Quetta,” by Jasmeen Manzoor for the Washington Times, May 12:
Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, the most wanted terrorist after Osama bin Laden, with a $25 million bounty on his head, is holed up near Quetta, Pakistan, according to a highly placed Pakistani intelligence source.
The Egyptian-born radical is a master of disguise, a meticulous planner and the deadliest of terrorists. Yet Pakistani intelligence sources say he roams openly and with impunity in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. While Predators continue to strike at a variety of key terror targets in that area, our source tells us that the CIA and other intelligence agencies cannot get al-Zawahiri, though they usually know for the most part where he is.[…]
Al-Zawahiri hides in plain sight. He has given up the trappings of a high-value target, has no large entourage and dresses in the manner of the people in the areas in which he resides. He moves his wives frequently to preclude any identification by that means.
He does not trust locals and is protected by a security force of trusted Egyptians. However, quite a few old veterans of the conflict in Afghanistan recognize him as he moves about the area.
Pakistani intelligence agencies have shared with the CIA their knowledge of al-Zawahiri’s location in the Quetta suburbs.
But the No. 2 most wanted man in the world is still roaming free…