It has been two weeks since the United States announced the killing of the chief of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). This severe blow has hit al-Qaeda hard, adding to the list of its losses over the last 10 years. The most recent loss is the death of Qassim al-Rimi, who was targeted in Wadi Abedah in Yemen's Marib province.

On Feb. 6, the White House confirmed the death of Rimi in an airstrike, saying that this man’s death “degrades al-Qaeda” and “brings us close to eliminating the threats these groups pose.” Apparently, it is a big victory but it is not a cure-all for potential al-Qaeda threats. Multiple American drone strikes have been conducted to kill al-Qaeda leaders, but this has not sufficed to wipe out the entire existence of al-Qaeda in Yemen. The killing strategy has been effective in uprooting the heads, but the roots of the problem persist.

Rimi was a founding member of AQAP and his influence grew in 2015 when he was declared as the new head of the group after the killing of his predecessor. Since then, Rimi has been the mastermind of al-Qaeda operations in war-ravaged Yemen. Al-Qaeda’s malign activities have just added to the ordeal Yemen has been witnessing over the last five years.

The United States has conducted several counterterrorism operations in Yemen even prior to the breakout of the civil war in 2015. The first high-profile al-Qaeda leader to be killed on Yemen’s soil was US-born Anwar al-Awlaki, who is originally from Yemen’s Shabwa province. He became a prominent cleric and a spokesman for AQAP. A US drone strike targeted him in September 2011.