(FILES) In this file photo reproduction of a combo of two pictures of a suspected military chief of al-Qaeda network in Yemen, identified as Qassem al-Rimi (or Qassim al-Rimi), shows the activist on a Yemeni interior ministry document in two different und
Washington: The White House said Friday that the US has killed Qassim Al Rimi, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
A White House statement said Al Rimi was killed in Yemen but it did not say when. The counter-terrorism operation was conducted at the direction of President Donald Trump, the statement said.
Al Rimi was placed on the United States most-wanted terrorist list after taking over al Qaedas Yemen affiliate in 2015.
"His death (Al Rimi's) further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security," the statement added.
