President Trump confirmed Thursday night that U.S. forces have killed terrorist Qasim al-Rimi, leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in a drone strike in Yemen.
In a statement, the president said he authorized a counterterrorism operation that killed al-Rimi, a deputy to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri who had worked in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden in the 1990s.
“Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces,” Mr. Trump said. “His death further degrades AQAP and the global al Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security.”
Rimi apparently was killed in a drone strike in January in central Yemen.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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