Al-Qaeda confirm second-in-command Nasir al-Wuhayshi killed in drone strike in Yemen
Nasir al-Wuhayshi had headed AQAP, the jihadist network's deadliest branch, since 2007
Al-Qaeda has confirmed its second-in-command, the chief of its powerful Yemeni branch, was killed in a US drone strike, in the heaviest blow to the jihadist network since the death of Osama bin Laden.
Already struggling with the rise of rival jihadists from Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda has suffered a series of setbacks in recent months with several commanders reported killed.
In a video statement, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed Nasir al-Wuhayshi was dead.
Wuhayshi "was killed in a US drone attack that targeted him along with two other mujahedeen," who were also killed, said the statement read by prominent al-Qaeda militant Khaled Omar Batarfi and dated June 15.
AQAP - which was behind several plots against Western targets including the deadly attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this year - said it had named its military chief Qassem al-Rimi as its new leader.
US officials were earlier reported to have been reviewing intelligence to confirm that Wuhayshi was killed in a CIA drone strike on June 9.