Washington: President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that the US has killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula – days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a US naval base.
“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),” Trump said in a White House statement.
AQAP had claimed responsibility 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. Eight others, including two policemen were also wounded.
The gunman was finally shot dead by the police. The FBI identified the attacker as Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force who was training in the US.
It must be stated here that the US thinks of AQAP to be the worldwide terror network’s most dangerous branch.
The terror group has thrived in the chaos of years of civil war between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels who control the capital.
“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 in the statement.
“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,” the US president added.
Trump however, did not give any details about the circumstances or the timing of the operation.
AQAP had posted a short manifesto on Twitter prior to the attack that read: “I’m against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil. I hate you because every day you (are) supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity.”
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman was quick to denounce the shooting as a ‘heinous crime’ and said the gunman ‘does not represent the Saudi people’.
Agencies