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White House Says Al-Qaida Leader Qassim Al-Rimi Killed In U.S. Operation

A reproduction of a combo of two pictures of Qassim al-Rimi, leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, who was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation.
Yemeni Ministry of Interior AFP via Getty Images
A reproduction of a combo of two pictures of Qassim al-Rimi, leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, who was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation.

President Trump on Thursday announced a successful U.S. counterterrorism operation that killed Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of a Yemen-based al-Qaida affiliate who claimed responsibility for last year's deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.

In a brief White House statement released late Thursday, the president said he had ordered the operation in Yemen "that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and leader of al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri."

Rimi's death was first reported more than a week ago by The New York Times, in an article attributing the information to three current and former U.S. officials who said he had been killed in a U.S. airstrike. Trump appeared to confirm the operation when he retweeted an article citing the Times' original reporting on Sunday.

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The newspaper reported that the strike took place last month, but the White House statement did not provide any details of the operation or its timing.

Rimi, a Yemeni national, reportedly served as a top lieutenant in Afghanistan to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in 2011.

Rimi later went on to co-found AQAP, a merging of al-Qaida's Yemeni and Saudi branches that has long been considered the most dangerous branch of the al-Qaida network. He assumed the leadership of the organization after the 2015 killing of Nasir al-Wuhayshi in a U.S. drone strike.

Rimi has been accused of attacks on U.S. targets dating back to 2008 and the State Department was offering $10 million for information on his whereabouts. He was seen as a top recruiter for al-Qaida and considered a possible successor to Zawahiri.

Last Sunday, al-Qaida released an audiotape statement by Rimi, who claimed his group was behind the Dec. 6 shooting at the Pensacola base, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three U.S. sailors.

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U.S. officials have not said whether they give credence to the claim.

In February 2017, shortly after Trump took office, he ordered a raid that was reportedly aimed at Rimi. A U.S. Navy SEAL and 23 civilians were killed and a $90 million Osprey aircraft destroyed in the raid in Yemen. However, the White House described the operation as a success because 14 al-Qaida militants were reportedly killed.

At the time, administration critics, including Sen. John McCain, called the raid an embarrassing failure.

NPR's national security correspondent Greg Myre contributed to this report.

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