This image from video released Jan. 23, 2009, by al-Malahim Media Foundation and provided by IntelCenter on Dec. 30, 2009, shows the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, identified by the IntelCenter as Nasir al-Wahishi, in Yemen.(Photo: AP)
Al-Qaeda's second in command has been killed in a U.S. airstrike, the extremist group said Tuesday.
Nasir al-Wahishi was also the leader of its Yemeni branch, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), considered the most dangerous al-Qaeda affiliate by U.S. officials.
In a video statement released early Tuesday by AQAP's media wing, the group confirmed his death and said his deputy, Qassim al-Rimi, has been named its new leader. The news of Al-Wahishi 's death could not be independently confirmed. U.S. officials have said they are trying to verify whether he has been killed.
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In the video, senior member Khaled Batarfi was quoted as saying: "We in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula mourn to our Muslim nation ... that Abu Baseer Nasir bin Abdul Karim al-Wahishi, God rest his soul, passed away in an American strike which targeted him along with two of his mujahideen brothers, may God rest their souls," according to the BBC.
He vowed the group's war on the U.S. would continue. "In the name of God, the blood of these pioneers make us more determined to sacrifice," he said. "Let the enemies know that the battle is not with an individual … the battle led by crusaders and their agents is colliding with a billion-member nation."
Yemeni news group al-Masdar Online said al-Wahishi was killed in an attack in Hadramawt province in the country Friday, the BBC reported.
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On Monday, the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors the activities of extremists, reported that jihadists had been circulating a rumor that al-Wahishi was killed in a drone strike. Site Intelligence Group director Rita Katz
tweeted that if the rumors are true, it would be hardest hit to al-Qaeda since Osama bin Laden's death in 2011.
Al-Wahishi was named as the deputy of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri in 2013 and once served as bin Laden's personal secretary.
The U.S. Department of State last year authorized rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to al-Wahishi's location. The department said the militant was responsible for approving targets, recruiting new members, allocating resources, and directing extremists to carry out attacks.
On Sunday, the Pentagon said the U.S. launched airstrikes in eastern Libya on Saturday targeting Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who was behind a 2013 attack on a gas plant in Algeria that killed at least 38 hostages, including three Americans.
The Libyan government said the strikes killed Belmokhtar and several others. However, an Islamist with ties to extremists claimed the strikes missed Belmokhtar, who was not at the site.
On Tuesday, al-Qaeda and other militants in Libya released a list of names of those they say were killed in the airstrike that does not include Belmokhtar.
Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, on Monday said an initial assessment showed the bombing was successful, and "post-strike assessments" were still underway to determine whether Belmokhtar was killed.
Contributing: Associated Press
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