Thread by @Rita_Katz

1)An #AQAP leader was killed via U.S. drone strike in Wadi Ubaidah district of #Marib #Yemen, according to Yemeni news reports. The Wadi Ubaidah area is known as a long-standing stronghold for AQ militants in the country. Name of the leader was not stated.

2)Will be interesting to see which #AQAP official warranted the intel & military resources required to carry out a precise U.S. drone attack...AQAP in recent years has dwindled. As it stands now, top publicly known officials are leader Qassim al-Rimi and official Ibrahim al-Qosi.

3)Breaking: It appears that Qasim al-Rimi, leader of the Yemen-based #AQAP, was the individual targeted & killed in a U.S. drone strike on Saturday, January 25 in Wadi Ubaidah, east of #Sanaa - a longtime stronghold for the group. AQAP has yet to officially confirm his death.

4)If true, and it seems to be, the dead of al-Rimi would mark a major blow to #AlQaeda on the whole. Al-Rimi was a candidate for succeeding AQ leader Zawahiri.

5)As I said yesterday, all but confirmed that #AQAP leader Qassim al-Rimi was killed in a U.S. drone strike. AQAP, although reduced in vitality in recent years, remains dangerous + has est. itself as a rival to Houthi and ISIS militants in the country.

nytimes.com/2020/01/31/wor…

6)Of all living #AlQaeda leaders, al-Rimi was the most compelling, known for his charisma & beloved across the AQ community. #AQAP in Yemen has a longstanding history as being the most directly symbiotic w/ AQC. Thus, this is not only a blow to #AQAP but to AQ as a whole.

7)#AQAP has not offered any confirmation of the death of its leader, which happened almost a week ago. Will be interesting to see how long the confirmation takes. The last major death in AQ leadership, #HamzaBinLaden, was never confirmed by the group.

https://twitter.com/Rita_Katz/status/1164573278167547905

8)In his last speech, released in Nov. 2019, al-Rimi drew on his past experiences w/ AQ in #Afghanistan & #Yemen in dealing w/ difficult circumstances, rallying fighters in #Syria, urging them to avoid loyalty to factions if it interferes with best interests of the Muslim public

9)Late in al-Rimi's tenure as #AQAP leader, the group was increasingly limited to local battles w/ rival group's like #ISIS. In 2019, out of 100 military claims, 64 pertained to IS. This incl'd publicized prisoner exchanges & exchange of violent rhetoric.

https://twitter.com/Rita_Katz/status/1118887297234210818