A US military statement issued Wednesday afternoon said the air strike killed Abu Ali al-Harithi, a senior leader in al Qaeda’s network in Yemen.
An air strike on Tuesday killed a senior al Qaeda leader in Yemen, a US military statement issued Wednesday afternoon said.
“A US strike killed senior leader Abu Ali al-Harithi in the Maarib governorate,” it said.
Al-Harithi was believed to be an operational commander who “provided operational support to AQAP terrorists,” the statement said.
According to Yemeni officials, Harithi is from the United Arab Emirates and was killed in an air strike in Bayda on Tuesday.
Al-Harithi was one of several senior AQAP leaders targeted by the US military after President Donald Trump took office, the US State Department said.
AQAP is a powerful rebel militia affiliated with al Qaeda.
The group, which has claimed responsibility for recent attacks in Central Asia and has attacked Saudi Arabia’s holiest sites, has long been among the most feared of the al Qaeda franchises.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2015, when Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened to battle Houthi rebels.
