MQ-1 Predator Drone. Photograph by Master Sgt. Stanley Thompson
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has confirmed that its deputy leader Sheikh Saeed al-Shehri was killed by a US drone-strike in Yemen.
Shehri had been held in Guantanamo Bay in 2007, but was later freed by US officials before being flown to Saudi Arabia for a “rehabilitation programme”. Once he finished this programme, he disappeared before emerging as the second in command for AQAP.
Shehri’s death was confirmed by AQAP’s Ibrahim al-Rubaish in a video posted on an Islamist website today, where he blamed “lax security measures” for allowing the US to identify him through phone conversations, and then target him with a drone.
Yemeni security forces had been attempting to track and kill Shehri for many months, announcing his death through the state news agency Sanaa on a number of occasions in recent months, only for Shehri to emerge with an audio message or video to deny the claims.
AQAP remains one of the most active Al-Qaeda affiliated groups, and a top target for US anti-terrorism initiatives, with more than 50 US drone-strikes targeting the group in Yeman last year.
