Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Al Qaida’s network in Yemen has confirmed the killing of its
deputy commander.

Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula said deputy commander Said Al Shihri
was killed in an attack by the U.S. military.

In a statement on July 17, AQAP said Al Shihri, a Saudi national, was targeted by a U.S. combat unmanned aerial vehicle.

“Sheik Said Al Shihri, aka Abu Sufyan Al Azdi, was killed in a U.S. drone strike,” AQAP leader Ibrahim Al Rubaish said.

In a video statement, Al Rubaish did not give details of Al Shihri’s death. Yemen had issued several announcements of his death, the last one in
January 2013.

But for months AQAP refused to confirm the Yemeni reports, at one point echoed by Islamist sources. In April, AQAP issued an audio message that the
movement attributed to Al Shihri.

“He was one of the leaders who played a major role in the planning of
local, regional and international terrorist acts,” the Yemeni government
said.

Al Shihri was said to have been one of the founders of AQAP, commanded
by Nasser Al Wuhayshi. In 2002, Al Shihri was captured by the U.S. military
in Afghanistan, imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and extradited to Saudi
Arabia in 2007.

In Saudi Arabia, Al Shihri was placed in a rehabilitation program for Al
Qaida fighters. In 2009, he was said to have escaped Saudi Arabia and
established AQAP in Yemen.

“I present my condolences to all the holy warriors on the martyrdom of
Said Al Shihri,” Al Rubaish said.

  Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Al Qaida in Yemen confirms commander killed by U.S. drone strike, Ibrahim Al Rubaish, Said Al Shihri