Saeed al-Shihri
Photo: EPA
Report: Al-Qaeda's No. 2 in Yemen killed in airstrike
Sanaa authorities say Saeed al-Shihri dead following apparent US drone strike. Five others killed in attack
An airstrike killed al-Qaeda's
No. 2 leader in Yemen
along with five others traveling with him in one car on Monday, senior Yemeni Defense Ministry officials reported.
If confirmed, Saeed al-Shihri's death would be a major blow to the militant group.
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The officials said the missile that killed al-Shihri, a Saudi national, was believed to have been fired by a US operated drone, but that couldn't immediately be confirmed.
The US does not usually comment on such attacks although it has used drones in the past to go after al-Qaeda members in Yemen.
A senior official at the Yemeni president's office confirmed the attack, but said DNA tests have yet to establish al-Shihri's identity.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she could not confirm al-Shihri's death.
Al-Shihri's death would amount to a major breakthrough for US efforts to cripple the group in Yemen, which is considered a crucial battleground with the terror network.
Political vacuum
Al-Qaeda's Yemen branch is seen as the world's most active, planning and carrying out attacks against targets in and outside US territory.
The group took advantage of the political vacuum during unrest inspired by the Arab Spring last year to take control of large swaths of land in the south. But the Yemeni military has launched a broad US-backed offensive and driven the movement from several towns.
Al-Shihri, who is believed to be in his late 30s, would be the latest in a series of al-Qaeda figures killed in drone strikes, including US-born Anwar al-Awlaki, who had been linked to the planning and execution of several attacks targeting US and Western interests, including the attempt to down a Detroit-bound airliner in 2009 and the plot to bomb cargo planes in 2010.
The Yemen-based militants have struck at Western interests in the area twice in the past 12 years. In 2000, they bombed the USS Cole destroyer in Aden harbor, killing 17 sailors. Two years later, they struck a French oil tanker, also off Yemen.
US drone strikes have intensified in Yemen in recent month, killing several key al-Qaeda operatives.
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