Ibrahim al-Rubeish, a 35-year-old Saudi and noted spokesman for al-Qaeda’s Yemeni branch, was killed by an American drone Monday in what the terrorist organization dubbed a “hate-filled Crusader strike” via Twitter — which is interesting coming from an organization hellbent on scaring the living —- out of people (oh and they’re utilizing a San Francisco-based social media company to spread their message) but okay then.

The group’s spokesman for many significant declarations since 2009 — most notably a video eulogy for American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki who was also killed in a drone strike in 2001 — al-Rubeish now joins the list of several top-level al-Qaeda operatives killed by U.S. drones in Yemen (recognized as the organization’s most dangerous branch) in the past year.

According to The New York Times, U.S. counterterrorism agents credit the killing of Yemeni al-Qaeda mujahids (Islamic fighters) as a major factor in foiling the organization’s plots to attack America and its allies.

Other experts unaffiliated with the U.S. government, however, say that the Yemeni branch is just as strong — if not stronger — as it was before the drone attacks commenced in 2009.

But opinions are scattered on the issue.

Case in point —  this testimonial from The New York Times:

Gerald M. Feierstein, a senior diplomat who was ambassador to Yemen from 2010 to 2013, called the death of Mr. Rubeish a “major setback” for the Qaeda franchise. He said that he had no details on the attack, but that it appeared to show that the United States could carry out strikes without a stable government in Yemen to offer support.

“At this particular moment, they might feel they’re operating with a certain level of impunity,” Mr. Feierstein said of the Qaeda branch, speaking in an interview after a congressional hearing on Yemen.  “If we can deny them that assurance, that’s a good thing.”

The strike was the first in Yemen in about six weeks, according to independent groups that track counterterrorism strikes. American drones have continued to carry out surveillance flights over Yemen, but strikes slowed last month after the American Embassy was closed and 125 American Special Operations troops were pulled out of an air base in the south.

In recent months, Iran-backed Shiite militia forces known as the Houthis have seized the Yemeni capital, Sana, and faced off against Yemen’s government and airstrikes carried out by a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni countries. Earlier this month, Qaeda fighters took advantage of disarray among security forces and seized Al Mukalla, looting a bank and freeing hundreds of prisoners.