Yemen’s al-Qaeda leader killed in drone attack

Yemen's al-Qaeda branch has announced that its top cleric, a Saudi-national who has had a US$5 million (HK$39 million) bounty on his head, has been killed, allegedly in a drone attack.

Al-Qaeda said in a statement posted on Twitter that Ibrahim al-Rubaish was killed by a drone late on Sunday, along with other, unnamed members of the group. The statement did not specify the location of the attack.

Yemeni officials made no comment on the claim and the White House was quiet.

Al-Rubaish, believed to be in his late 30s, was released from Guantanamo Bay in 2006, after which he joined al-Qaeda in Yemen. He was considered the group's the main ideologue and theological adviser and his writings and sermons were prominent in its publications.

Last year, he hailed the seizure of large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria by al-Qaeda's rival, Islamic State. "I ask God that efforts are united to target the enemies of the religion," he said in a video recording at the time.

If the drone attack is confirmed, it would be the first use of unmanned aircraft since Yemen sank further into turmoil last month, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to launch airstrikes in an attempt to halt Shiite rebels known as Houthis who have taken over much of the country.