U.S. strike kills senior Qaeda official in Yemen: Site
The announcement of his death came in a video posted Thursday on Twitter by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
A U.S. air strike in Yemen last month killed the senior al-Qaeda official who appeared in a video claiming the deadly January attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, a monitor said Thursday.
Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, who was killed in the April strike along with his eldest son and other fighters in the port city of Mukalla, also appeared in al-Qaeda videos claiming the capture and death of U.S. hostage Luke Somers, SITE Intelligence Group said.
The announcement of his death came in a video posted Thursday on Twitter by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - which Washington considers the international terror network’s deadliest branch.
The air raid appears to have been carried out overnight on April 21-22, when witnesses in Mukalla said an apparent U.S. drone strike on a vehicle parked near the presidential palace in the city killed six suspected al-Qaeda militants.
SITE described Ansi as “a senior AQAP official and military strategist.”
Ansi appeared in the video released on January 14 in which AQAP claimed it had carried out the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris to avenge its publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
He also appeared in video productions about the holding and death of American hostage Somers.
The United States is the only country that operates drones over war-torn Yemen.
Also Read
-
Hezbollah fighters attack Syrian al Qaeda gathering along border
Lebanese Hezbollah militants on Wednesday attacked a gathering of leaders of Syria’s Nusra Front and other insurgents Middle East -
Top EU diplomat says Yemen conflict opens door to al-Qaeda
The EU's foreign policy chief says the violence in Yemen needs to end as the conflict is opening the door to al-Qaeda Middle East -
How al-Qaeda and ISIS want to turn heads in Yemen
A strong focus on al-Qaeda or ISIS at this point would divert much-needed attention away from the root causes of Yemen’s crisis Middle East -
Al Qaeda branch claims murder of Bangladesh-born U.S. blogger
Avijit Roy was hacked to death by two assailants with machetes on the streets of the capital Dhaka in February Asia
