Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqpa) confirmed the death of its leader on Sunday, two weeks after the United States announced his death in an American drone strike in Yemen, according to a statement by the American surveillance center. Islamist SITE sites.
The jihadist organization confirmed the death of Qassem al-Rimi in a speech broadcast on Sunday and announced that "Khaled ben Omar Batarfi is the new head of Aqpa," said SITE.
A destabilized organization
The death of the Yemeni leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqpa), killed on the orders of US President Donald Trump, raises the question of his importance within the jihadist group claimed by the perpetrators of anti-Western attacks , and the future of it. Under the command of Rimi, Aqpa, based in Yemen, took advantage of the chaos caused by the conflict which has pitted the pro-government forces there for more than five years, supported by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, to the Houthi rebels, supported by the 'Iran. The jihadist group has strengthened its grip in the south and south-east of the country and has carried out operations both against the Houthis and against pro-government forces.
But experts agree that Aqpa had already lost its power before Rimi's death. "However, he was not a good leader and since his appointment, the group's international terrorist wing had been atrophied," said Gregory Johnsen of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, quoted by AFP. The death of its leader "further weakens Aqpa and the global Al Qaeda movement and this brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security," said the White House.
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