Al-Qaeda leader in Arabian Peninsula Khaled Batarfi arrested
MAHRAH, Feb. 5 (YPA) – The leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been under arrest for several months, according to a United Nations report released on Thursday.
The reported indicated that Khalid Batarfi, the leader of Al-Qaeda was arrested and his deputy, Saad Atef al-Awlaqi, died during an “operation in al-Ghayda City, Mahrah province, in October.”
He became the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula after the killing of Qassim al-Rimi in January last year.
The report also confirmed that al-Qaeda leader in Abyan al-Khader al-Walidi was killed last November.
But experts have warned that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula remains a threat despite suffering from a weakening of its ranks, the report said.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said stopping US support for the war in Yemen would not include fighting of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said night that “the war on Yemen must stop”, announcing that all US support for “offensive operations participating in the aggression on Yemen” has stopped.
At the same time, Biden said in his first foreign policy speech that the US will continue to support Saudi Arabia and help it defend its sovereignty and territory.
E.M