US forces eliminate Al-Qaeda leader Qassim al-Rimi in Yemen

A White House in a statement on Thursday (February 7) confirmed that US forces have killed the leader of the jihadist group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen.

“The US conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qassim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),” said US president Donald Trump in a statement.

Rimi, who joined Al-Qaeda in the 1990s, worked for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

“Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces,” Trump said.

“His death further degrades AQAP and the global Al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm,” the statement read.

However, the Trump administration gave no further details about counter-terrorist operation. According to reports, the US considered AQAP to be the worldwide jihadist network’s most dangerous branch.

AQAP on Sunday (February 2) had claimed responsibility for the December shooting at a US naval base in which a Saudi officer killed three sailors.