Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula announces the death of its leader

Shafaq News/ Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) announced the death of its leader, Khalid Batarfi, on Sunday, as reported by the SITE Intelligence group.

In a statement, AQAP did not disclose the cause of death, according to SITE. Sa'd bin 'Atef al-Awlaki was named as his successor, as confirmed by the monitoring group.

SITE quoted a group leader saying, "Allah took his soul while he patiently sought his reward and stood firm... and waged jihad for his sake."

Batarfi took over as AQAP's leader in early 2020 following the death of his predecessor, Qassim al-Raymi, who was killed by the United States in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen, as stated by former president Donald Trump.

He was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, traveled to Afghanistan in 1999 and fought alongside the Taliban during the U.S.-led invasion. Joining AQAP in 2010, he led forces in capturing Yemen’s Abyan province, as per U.S. reports.

Furthermore, Batarfi was among 150 imprisoned AQAP members who were released when the group, recognized by the United States as one of the most dangerous branches of the network established by Osama bin Laden, and the State Department designated Batarfi in 2018 a "global terrorist", he seized the Yemeni port city of Mukalla in 2015, where he was held. This event occurred amidst the turmoil caused by Yemen’s Houthi rebels taking over Sanaa and a Saudi-led coalition launching a war against the Houthis.

Although AQAP was eventually ousted from Mukalla, it has persisted in carrying out attacks and has been the subject of a U.S. drone strike campaign since the era of then-President George W. Bush.

SITE mentioned that the new leader, al-Awlaki, was last seen in a video released in February 2023, where he urged Sunni tribesmen in the Yemeni governorates of Abyan and Shabwa to "resist overtures by the United Arab Emirates and the (separatist) Southern Transitional Council to join their fight against AQAP."