An official military website has revealed that the second in command of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Said al-Shihri has been killed on Monday in an operation in Hadramawt Valley by Yemeni forces. The news has also been confirmed by Yemeni Defense Ministry.
According to a Yemeni government official who spoke to the CNN on condition of anonymity, an operation took place and a body appears to be that of al-Shihri, but officials are waiting for DNA confirmation. However, military statement said al-Shihri was killed along with “six other terrorists who were with him.”
Al-Shihri had once been held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. However, in November 2007 he was transferred to Saudi custody, and underwent a program designed to lead people away from terrorism. But despite travel restrictions requiring him to stay in Saudi Arabia, he left for Yemen, where he joined another former Guantanamo detainee to assume leadership of AQAP.
According to the U.S. State Department, he was publicly identified in January 2009 as the deputy leader of AQAP. “As deputy of AQAP, al-Shihri helps carry out terrorist acts by generating targets, recruiting new members, assisting with training and attack planning, and tasking others in the preparation of attacks,” the State Department said.
No comments:
Post a Comment