I've been monitoring these reports for the past week-and-a-half. Bill Roggio of the Long War Journal--who has great, on-the-ground contacts with superior knowledge of Pakistan's tribal regions--has yet to confirm them, and I get the feeling that he would know if they were indeed legit. But he also doesn't disavow them, which says, like our friends at Hot Air.com have been reporting, that our chubby Benedict bin-Arnold may indeed be ashes. From Roggio:
As US and Pakistani intelligence attempted to determine who else might have been killed in the Jan. 29 US airstrike in North Waziristan that took the life of al Qaeda commander Abu Laith al Libi, a new, unconfirmed report claimed Adam Gadahn, Laith's American deputy, died in the strike, as did two Kuwaitis and four other terrorists.
Sources inside Pakistan told the Nine/Eleven Finding Answers Foundation that US traitor Adam Gadahn was killed, along with Abu Suhail, Laith's former deputy; Hamza al Somali, who is presumably of Australian or US nationality; Abu Ubayda Tawari Rakhis al Mutairi, a Kuwaiti national; Abu Adil al Kuwaiti, another Kuwaiti; and at least three Uzbek nationals. "It should be noted that the death of the American Gadahn has not yet been officially confirmed," the Nine/Eleven Finding Answers Foundation reported.
Adnkronos International said Feb. 5 that Abu Adil al Kuwaiti was reported killed in the North Waziristan airstrike, along with Abu Obeida Tawari al Obeidi, a Saudi.
Speculation about Gadahn's death surfaced immediately after the airstrike, as Pakistani sources told US and Pakistani news agencies that Gadahn had not been seen or heard from since the strike. Gadahn was purportedly attending the meeting chaired by Laith, who was planning al Qaeda's 2008 campaign in Afghanistan.
Here's where some of the chief doubts arise:
Al Qaeda has been quick to lionize the death of its leaders, for propaganda and recruiting reasons. Laith's death was announced on a jihadi Internet forum within three days of the airstrike in North Waziristan.
You'd have to think, based on their track record, that Al-Qaeda would indeed lionize a deceased Gadahn as an inspiration to their Western followers in particular. If the media-savvy Gadahn is dead, it may prove a major blow tro Al-Qaeda's Internet and video operations. Stay tuned.