Yemeni officials are reporting that an air strike against the village of Yatama killed six al-Qaeda figures, including a man they believe was the top military chief for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The chief, named Qassim al-Raimi, has been reported killed in the past only to reemerge. National officials say they have intelligence he was among the six people killed in today’s strike, though provincial authorities said they could not confirm this.
Raimi spent about a year in jail in 2005 when he was accused of plotting a bomb attack and planning to assassinate the US Ambassador. He escaped from prison in the 2006 incident in which 23 al-Qaeda suspects fled through a tunnel.
Another of those reportedly slain was Ammar al-Waeli, accused of a role in a 2007 suicide bombing against Spanish tourists. Ayed al-Shabwani and Saleh al-Teys were also said to have been killed. The indentities of the other two were not known.
