(CNN)Much attention is being devoted to analyzing the significance of the death of Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the No. 2 leader for al Qaeda globally, in a reported U.S. drone strike last week.
After all, he was the organization's second-ranking leader and headed the al Qaeda affiliate that has been consistently portrayed as the one that poses the greatest threat to the United States -- even more dangerous than ISIS, the breakaway al Qaeda affiliate and center of media focus, according to former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell.
That view was shared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which tweeted: "We continue to assess that AQAP remains the al-Qa'ida affiliate most likely to attempt transnational attacks against the United States" as the President laid out his justification for strikes on ISIS.
Al-Wuhayshi had the personal history to back up his claim as leader of the most threatening terrorist group. He was Osama bin Laden's personal secretary and body guard and was with the core al Qaeda leadership as it fled Afghanistan. He spent time in a Yemeni prison before escaping and becoming the leader of the newly formed AQAP.
Yet as interesting as the man is the place where he was reportedly killed. The strike occurred in Al Mukalla, a Yemeni port in the province of Hadramaut and the fifth-largest city in Yemen.