The White House announced on Thursday evening that al Qaeda Leader Qassim al-Rimi dies during an airstrike in Yemen.
The United States conducted an air strike last week, targeting the al Qaeda terrorist group based in Yemen who repeatedly expressed their interest in targeting the US.
The Pentagon remains silent when asked about the said operation.
The US government offered a $10 million reward for anyone who has information on Rimi and his whereabouts.
President Donald Trump had also ordered a nighttime raid in October that lead to the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northen Syria, and an airstrike in January that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
Rimi may not be of the same level as Baghdadi and Soleimani, but his death is still a significant moment in US history.
He had been a US target since the start of Trump’s presidency, as he was the target on a January 2017 raid that led to the first US military combat death under the President.
Rimi insulted Trump after the operation, and said in an 11-minute recording that the “new fool of the White House received a painful slap across his face.”
The White House stated that Rimi’s death “further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qa’ida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security.”
The announcement continued on, and declared that “The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.”
Qassim al-Rimi was a former AQAP military chief who became the group’s leader after the death of Nasir al-Wuhayshi during the 2015 drone strike.
This is when Rimi issued a video calling all supporters to attack the United States, persuading them to “direct and gather your arrows and swords against it.”