SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An airstrike killed al-Qaida's No. 2 leader in Yemen along with five others traveling with him in one car on Monday, senior Yemeni Defense Ministry officials reported. If confirmed, Saeed al-Shihri's death would be a major blow to the militant group.
The officials said the missile that killed al-Shihri, a Saudi national, was believed to have been fired by a U.S. operated drone, but that couldn't immediately be confirmed. The U.S. doesn't usually comment on such attacks although it has used drones in the past to go after al-Qaida members in Yemen.
The Yemeni officials were elaborating on a brief Defense Ministry statement sent to Yemeni reporters on their mobile phones. A senior official at the Yemeni president's office confirmed the attack, but said DNA tests have yet to establish al-Shihri's identity. The officials all spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to the media.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she could not confirm al-Shihri's death.
Al-Shihri's death would amount to a major breakthrough for U.S. efforts to cripple the group in Yemen, which is considered a crucial battleground with the terror network. The impoverished nation on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula is on the doorstep of Saudi Arabia and fellow oil-producing nations of the Gulf and lies on strategic sea routes leading to the Suez Canal.
Al-Qaida's Yemen branch is seen as the world's most active, planning and carrying out attacks against targets in and outside U.S. territory. The group took advantage of the political vacuum during unrest inspired by the Arab Spring last year to take control of large swaths of land in the south. But the Yemeni military has launched a broad U.S.-backed offensive and driven the movement from several towns.
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