Washington, US President Donald Trump said that the US had conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that killed Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
“The United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qa’ida (al-Qaeda) in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri,” Xinhua quoted Trump as saying in a statement released by the White House on Thursday.
Rimi’s death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaeda movement, the statement added.