AQAP leader Nasser Al-Wuhayshi killed
Yemen Post Staff
Leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula AQAP, Nasser Al-Wuhayshi, has been killed in a US drone strike, a Yemeni website reported on Monday.
"We obtained reliable information that Al-Wuhayshi was targeted by the drone in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramout this past Friday," the Almasdar website reported. Yemen Post could not independently confirm the killing of the top AQAP leader.
Al-Wuhayshi, who once was Osama Bin Laden's secretary, was on a US list of the most wanted global fugitives because he was planning to attack the US.
AQAP seized Mukalla weeks ago amid deepening power vacuum blamed on the ongoing conflict after the Houthi militants had ousted the transition government.
The website said the information also showed that AQAP members elected Qasim Al-Raimi as their new leader.
Al-Raimi is an another extremely dangerous terrorist wanted by the US.
After the Houthi militants ousted the government and tightened their grip on power, the US administration expressed concerns over its war on terror in Yemen.
The White House sees AQAP as the most active branch of the global Al-Qaeda network since it has been responsible for failed plots against Western targets.