Mark another top al-Qaeda “commander” (scumbag) off the most-wanted list. There is debate as to whether Abu Hamza Rabia was killed because of an accident in his bomb-making facility, or if he was offed by a Pakistani missile, but who gives a hoot? From Reuters:

An al Qaeda commander ranked among the top five in Osama bin Laden’s network was killed in a tribal region of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday.

Abu Hamza Rabia, an Egyptian credited with heading al Qaeda’s international operations, was among five militants killed in an explosion at a house where they were hiding in North Waziristan on Thursday.

Musharraf, arriving in Kuwait on an official visit, confirmed Rabia had been killed.

“Yes indeed, 200 percent. I think he was killed the day before yesterday if I’m not wrong,” Musharraf told reporters.

While officials said the blast was caused by explosives stored in the house for bomb-making, residents said a helicopter fired rockets into the house at a village near Mir Ali in the tribal agency, just 30 km (20 miles) from Afghanistan where U.S. forces are based.

Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, also in Kuwait, denied Rabia was killed during a military operation.

“He’s head of the international operations of al Qaeda. He was very important in al Qaeda. He was maybe Number Three or Five,” the minister told Reuters.

Always the political “sensibilities.” This thug tried to kill President Musharraf, but the wording is still minced. I know, I know; Musharraf has to balance his relationship with the West with the mood of Pakistan’s large Islamist population.

He has already stuck his neck on the line — establishing relations with Israel and speaking before the American Jewish Congress. He’s a marked man already, but has chosen wisely to side with the civilized world. Time to stop mincing words and get on with things.