US has killed leader of jihadist al-Qaeda group in Yemen, Donald Trump confirms
- Qassim al-Rimi was chief of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
- Washington considers AQAP to be the worldwide jihadist network’s most dangerous branch
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that American forces had killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula – days after the jihadist group claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a US naval base.
The US “conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qassim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)”, Trump said in a White House statement.
AQAP claimed responsibility on Sunday for a December 6 shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, in which a Saudi Air Force officer killed three American sailors.
The announcement came with Trump touting US resolve following the killings of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October last year and top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani three months later.
Washington considers AQAP to be the worldwide jihadist network’s most dangerous branch.