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Trump confirms al-Qaeda’s Yemen leader killed

President Donald Trump has confirmed that a US operation killed al-Qaeda’s top leader in Yemen last week.

Jack Detsch
Jack Detsch
Feb 7, 2020
Shi'ite Houthi rebels drive a patrol truck past an Ansar al-Sharia flag painted on the side of a hill, along a road in Almnash, the main stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia, the local wing of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Rada, Yemen November 22, 2014. To match Special Report YEMEN-AQAP/ REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - GF10000374961
Shiite Houthi rebels drive a patrol truck past an Ansar al-Sharia flag painted on the side of a hill, along a road in Almnash, the main stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia, the local wing of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Rada, Yemen Nov. 22, 2014. — REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

An American operation killed al-Qaeda’s top leader in Yemen last week, President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday night.

Qasim al-Raymi had been targeted in a botched US Navy SEAL raid in 2017, just days after Trump took office, that led to the death of the first American service member in combat under the new administration. Recently, the top lieutenant to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had taken credit for the shooting at a US naval air base in Florida that killed two American service members.

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