WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- Nasser al-Wuhayshi, reportedly al-Qaida's second-in-command and leader of the Arabian Peninsula branch, was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen.
The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula militant Islamist group released a video confirming his death and naming Qasim al-Rimi, also known as Abu Hureira al-Sanaani, as al-Wuhayshi's successor to lead the branch.
"We in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula mourn to our Muslim nation... that Abu Baseer Nasser bin Abdul Karim al-Wuhayshi, may God have mercy on his soul, passed away in an American strike which targeted him along with two of his mujahideen brothers," Khaled Batarfi, a senior member of the group, said in the video.
Al-Wuhayshi's death is seen as the biggest bow dealt to al-Qaida since the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011. He previously served as bin Laden's personal secretary.
Al-Rimi now becomes the leader of what is regarded as one of the most violent branches of al-Qaida. He was born in Yemen and is seen as an important recruiter for the militant group.
"Al-Rimi has played a key role in reviving the regional node of al-Qaida," according to the U.S. Department of State. "In addition to his activities as AQAP's senior military commander, al-Rimi has played an important role in recruiting the current generation of militants making up the Yemen-based AQAP."
The State Department's Rewards for Justice program offers up to a $5 million reward for al-Rimi, who has been a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since 2010.
