OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:30 PM PT — Thursday, February 6, 2020
On Thursday, President Trump confirmed that the U.S. military has
eliminated the leader of Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula. In a
statement, the president said the Pentagon killed Qasim al-Rimi during a
counterterrorism operation in Yemen this week.Al-Rimi was the top regional commander of the militant group and served as deputy to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
“At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the United States conducted a counterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” read the statement. “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.
Al-Rimi’s forces have been responsible for attacks on U.S. forces and allies, as well as many atrocities against the civilian population in the region.
President Trump said his death brings the U.S. closer to eliminating the threat posed by the terror group.
On Twitter, Donald Trump Jr. celebrated the news and thanked the president for taking down “another disgusting terrorist.”
