Monday, July 29, 2013
Drone strike kills 4 suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen
Al Qaeda acknowledges U.S. drone kills its No. 2 man in Yemen
July 17, 2013 -- Updated 1003 GMT (1803 HKT)
A screen shot of a video shows al Qaeda's No. 2 man in Yemen Said al-Shihri on October 6, 2010.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Hardly anyone has been rumored dead as often as al-Shihri
- He was once a prisoner in Guantanamo
- He was released in 2008 to his native Saudi Arabia
- But he made a break for Yemen, rising to its leadership ranks
Said al-Shihri has emerged from the aftermath of drone strikes in the past to lambast the CIA for trying to kill him.
It seems it finally did.
A message on jihadi websites announced his death Tuesday. It was purportedly posted by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
It did not say when or where al-Shihri died, just that a U.S. drone took his life sometime after the first week of April.
Al-Shihri's career as a terrorist leader has its roots in the U.S. detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He was released in 2008 to his native Saudi Arabia under the condition that he not travel outside the country.
He quickly disobeyed the
order to join a fellow former Guantanamo inmate with AQAP in Yemen,
where he climbed to the number two slot in 2009.
The CIA promptly put
drones in the air with him in its crosshairs, and Yemeni authorities
erroneously reported deadly direct hits.
Shortly afterward, al-Shihri would pop up on jihadist websites to correct the reports.
The occurrences repeated themselves -- most recently, in January.
In April, al-Shihri
issued a threat to the Saudi royal family for allegedly conspiring with
American "crusaders" against "the faithful people of Yemen."
The jihadi statement said the airstrike killed him sometime after that.
Residents in Abyan province described a powerful explosion.
The latest strike comes
amid Yemen's campaign to uproot al Qaeda and its offshoot Ansar al
Sharia from the country. Officials hailed the strike, calling it a
success in the efforts to wipe out al Qaeda.
The province's Mahfad district has been one of the most targeted districts in Abyan by U.S. drones over the past two years.
"The militants have been
tremendously weakened over the last year," said AbdulSalam Mohammed,
president of the Sanaa-based Abaad Strategic Center. "Abyan was the
backbone of the militant group, while today it is under the control of
the Yemeni government."
Last year, the government
intensified its offensive against al Qaeda after political turmoil in
2010 saw al Qaeda militants takeover the majority of Abyan province.
Upon coming to office in 2012, President Abdurabu Hadi vowed to fight al
Qaeda until its members are killed or surrender to the government.
Source:CNN News International
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