DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The leader of al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch has died, the extremist group said late Sunday, without providing further details.
Khalid al-Batarfi, who led the al-Qaeda organization in the Arabian Peninsula for years, was imprisoned, escaped from prison, and was released, receiving a $5 million gift from the U.S. government for taking control of Yemen’s ruling army during the country’s fierce war. There was a dollar bounty on him.
The group, known by its acronym AQAP, is believed to have weakened in recent years due to infighting and the alleged killing of its leader in a U.S. drone strike, but the group, known by its acronym AQAP, is an extremist group that has remained active since the war. It has long been considered the most dangerous sector of the world. Murder of founder Osama bin Laden.
Al-Qaeda released a video showing al-Batalfi wrapped in white funeral shrouds and carrying al-Qaeda’s black and white flag.
The militants did not provide details about his cause of death, and his face showed no obvious signs of trauma. Al-Batafi is believed to be in his early 40s.
“Allah took his soul while he patiently sought his reward and stood firm, immigrated, garrisoned and waged jihad,” the militants said in the video, according to the SITE information group. .
The group made the announcement on the eve of Ramadan, the holy Muslim fasting month in Yemen, which begins on Monday.
In a statement, the group announced that Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki will be appointed its leader. The United States is offering a $6 million bounty on al-Awlaki for “publicly calling for attacks against the United States and its allies.”
Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch is considered the terrorist network’s most dangerous branch by the U.S. government since 2009, when it attempted to bomb civilian aircraft over U.S. skies. He claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack on the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. However, overseas business has been decreasing in recent years.
A recent UN report on al-Qaeda said: “Although in decline, AQAP remains Yemen’s most effective terrorist group and is intent on conducting operations within the region and beyond.”
Estimates provided to the United Nations put AQAP’s total strength at between 3,000 and 4,000 active combatants and passive members. The group raises funds by robbing banks and exchange offices, smuggling weapons, counterfeiting currency and demanding ransoms, according to the United Nations.
Mr. Al Batafi was appointed branch chief in February 2020. He replaced leader Qassim al-Rimi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike ordered by then-President Donald Trump. Al Rimi claimed responsibility for the 2019 attack on U.S. Naval Air Station Pensacola. In this incident, a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors.
Under al-Batafi’s regime, AQAP fell further under the influence of al-Qaeda fighter Saif al-Adl. Ayman al-Zawahiri murder It comes as Yemen is embroiled in a war between the Houthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, and the Saudi-led coalition supporting the country’s Aden-based government-in-exile.
“Since 2020, Saif al-Adel has developed a strategy focused on confronting the West and its allies in Yemen, namely the Saudi-led coalition, the Aden-based government, and the United Arab Emirates and its allies. A 2023 report by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies said it was necessary to support allies rather than confront the Iranian-backed Houthi movement. It has been stated.
Al-Adl is in Iran and is believed to be part of al-Qaeda, which has a long-standing presence in the Islamic Republic. Although it has long been denied by the Iranian government, Supported by documents seized in the 2011 US raid on Pakistan that killed bin Ladenthe person who orchestrated the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Experts say the relationship between al-Batafi and al-Adl has strained relations within AQAP. However, militants have been seen armed with bomb-laden drones, which the Houthis are currently using to target ships in the Red Sea amid the Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. I am using it.
A January UN report said AQAP “received operational training from the Houthis, developed unmanned aerial systems capabilities and established a specialized drone force.” “We are prioritizing the release of prisoners to replenish our ranks. In September, the Houthis released several AQAP members and explosives experts.”
The Shiite Zaidi Houthi group has previously denied collaborating with the Sunni militant group AQAP. However, AQAP’s targeting of the Houthis has decreased in recent years, and the militants continue to attack the Saudi-led coalition.
Yemen’s history and tribal structure have led to rapidly changing alliances over time. Something about the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh It is called “dancing on the snake’s head.”
Born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, al-Batarfi moved to Afghanistan in 1999 and fought alongside the Taliban during the US-led invasion. According to the US, he joined AQAP in 2010 and led troops in the capture of Yemen’s Abia province.
Released in 2015 AQAP raid in which militants captured Mukalla, Hadramawt, the capital of Yemen’s largest province, is in the turmoil of war. Photos from the time showed al-Awlaki holding a Kalashnikov rifle and posing inside the government palace.
AQAP was later forced out of Mukalla, but has continued to carry out attacks since then-President George W. Bush’s administration and has been the target of a U.S. drone strike campaign.
There were claims in 2020 that al-Baltafi had been detained, but they were later denied. In 2021, he appeared in an extremist video in which he referred to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as “just the tip of the iceberg of what’s going to happen to them, God willing.”
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Associated Press writer Ahmed al-Hajj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.
