A senior al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader who trained at a
camp in Afghanistan more than a decade ago was killed in a recent
airstrike in southern Yemen. The airstrike is one of two thought to have
been carried out by US-operated unmanned strike aircraft over the past
several days.
Mohammed Saeed al Umda (also known as Ghareeb al Taizi) is said to be among three AQAP members believed to have been killed in an April 22 drone strike on a convoy in the Al Samadah area, near the border of Marib and Al Jawf provinces, a senior Yemeni official told The Long War Journal.
US officials contacted by The Long War Journal would neither confirm or deny the strike, but one intelligence official said that al Umda "has been in our crosshairs." Airstrikes in Yemen on moving targets such as convoys are typically carried out by the CIA or the US military.
The US officials could not confirm his death. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, have not released a martyrdom statement announcing his death.
The Yemeni official said that al Umda provided "logistical and financial support" and "commanded a number of AQAP military operations in Yemen." Al Umda has also been featured prominently in AQAP's propaganda.
Al Umda attended the Al Farouq military training camp in Afghanistan before the downfall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Al Farouq was one of al Qaeda's primary training facilities in pre-9/11 Afghanistan. Foreign recruits were shuttled to the camp, where they were given training on light arms and other basic instruction. Those who were selected for operations in the West or elsewhere were sent to other specialized training camps. Other recruits were selected to fight alongside the Taliban in al Qaeda's Arab 055 Brigade.
Al Umda was involved in the October 2002 suicide attack on the French oil tanker Limburg. He was convicted by a Yemeni court and imprisoned in 2005. In February 2006, he was among 23 al Qaeda operatives to escape from a prison in Sana'a. The Yemeni official said that al Umda is listed as the fourth-most-wanted man in Yemen.
In a second drone strike yesterday in Shabwa province, three AQAP fighters were killed, according to The Associated Press. The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a pickup truck traveling in the province. No senior AQAP commanders or operatives were reported to have been killed.
Mohammed Saeed al Umda (also known as Ghareeb al Taizi) is said to be among three AQAP members believed to have been killed in an April 22 drone strike on a convoy in the Al Samadah area, near the border of Marib and Al Jawf provinces, a senior Yemeni official told The Long War Journal.
US officials contacted by The Long War Journal would neither confirm or deny the strike, but one intelligence official said that al Umda "has been in our crosshairs." Airstrikes in Yemen on moving targets such as convoys are typically carried out by the CIA or the US military.
The US officials could not confirm his death. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, have not released a martyrdom statement announcing his death.
The Yemeni official said that al Umda provided "logistical and financial support" and "commanded a number of AQAP military operations in Yemen." Al Umda has also been featured prominently in AQAP's propaganda.
Al Umda attended the Al Farouq military training camp in Afghanistan before the downfall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Al Farouq was one of al Qaeda's primary training facilities in pre-9/11 Afghanistan. Foreign recruits were shuttled to the camp, where they were given training on light arms and other basic instruction. Those who were selected for operations in the West or elsewhere were sent to other specialized training camps. Other recruits were selected to fight alongside the Taliban in al Qaeda's Arab 055 Brigade.
Al Umda was involved in the October 2002 suicide attack on the French oil tanker Limburg. He was convicted by a Yemeni court and imprisoned in 2005. In February 2006, he was among 23 al Qaeda operatives to escape from a prison in Sana'a. The Yemeni official said that al Umda is listed as the fourth-most-wanted man in Yemen.
In a second drone strike yesterday in Shabwa province, three AQAP fighters were killed, according to The Associated Press. The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a pickup truck traveling in the province. No senior AQAP commanders or operatives were reported to have been killed.
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/04/aqap_commander_thoug.php#ixzz1t2S1PkKq
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