Crime & Justice

Al-Qaida announces death of leader in Yemen, names successor

Cairo, Mar 11 (EFE).- Islamist extremist organization Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula announced the death of its leader Khaled Batarfi on Monday and appointed his successor Saad bin Atef al Awlaki as the new emir of the group that operates in Yemen.

“Allah took his soul while he patiently sought his reward and stood firm, immigrated, garrisoned, and waged jihad for His sake,” veteran Al-Qaida Ibrahim al Qosi said in a 15-minute video, without giving any details about the reason for his death.

He said in the tape, where Batarfi’s body was shown, that the group’s Shura Council elected Saad bin Atef al Awlaki as the new head.

Awlaki, the last public leader of the group, last appeared in February 2023 in a video in which he urged members of the Sunni tribes of Abyan and Shabua to reject the influence of the United Arab Emirates and the Transitional Council Southerner in Yemen.

Batarfi was appointed the groups’ emir in 2020 when previous leader Qasem al Rimi was assassinated by the United States.

Batarfi, a Saudi national and a prominent figure within the Al-Qaida extremist network, was Al Rimi’s right-hand man in Yemen. EFE

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