From Times Online:
Key al-Qaeda operatives have been forced out of the tribal regions of Pakistan after drone attacks killed 20 commanders in the past 18 months. They have moved into urban areas, where aerial surveillance is far more complicated, and have been replaced by a younger generation of militants who now control operations on the ground.
Al-Qaeda has been forced to regroup its core leadership with some of the key operatives moving out of the tribal regions into urban compounds in Pakistan to escape the American unmanned spy drones which have killed 20 terrorist commanders in the last 18 months.
Although Osama bin Laden remains the figurehead leader, a 15-member “shura” or supreme council now runs the organisation’s affairs, senior Pakistani intelligence sources say. The sources have disclosed that the council is headed by a Saudi national, Mustafa abul al-Yazidi. Other senior members include a Libyan, Abu Yahaya al-Libbi, along with militants from North Africa and Somalia.
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My Comment: It is not that easy to hide in an urban setting. But if the alternative is to be in the countryside and an easy mark for the Predator and Reaper UAVs .... I would choose the city anyday.