Feared leader of Al Qaeda’s ‘most dangerous branch’ in Yemen dies in mysterious circumstances after US put $5million bounty on his head

The feared leader of a branch of Al Qaeda in Yemen, considered the “most dangerous” faction of the jihadist network, has died under mysterious circumstances.

Khalid al-Batarfi was branded a “global terrorist” and the US government placed a $5 million bounty on his head for his role as leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

AQAP has long been considered the most threatening part of Al-Qaeda in operation after the assassination of its founder Osama bin Laden, although the group is believed to have been weakened by infighting and alleged US drone strikes that killed to their leaders.

Now, without announcing the cause of his death, Al Qaeda has released a video showing Al Batarfi’s top brass wrapped in a white funeral shroud and covered with the terrorist organization’s black and white flag.

Making the announcement in a 15-minute video, al Qaeda veteran Ibrahim al-Qosi offered no details about the cause of his death and there was no clear sign of trauma visible on his face.

Al-Batarfi, believed to be in his early 40s, was imprisoned before being freed in a prison break in 2015, and ruled forces in Yemen amid that country’s grinding war.

“Allah took his soul as he patiently sought his reward and stood firm, emigrated, garrisoned and waged jihad for His sake,” al-Qosi said in the video, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

The announcement was made on the eve of Ramadan, the holy month of Muslim fasting that Yemen begins today.

In the announcement, the group said Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki would take over as leader.

The United States is offering a $6 million reward for him, saying that al-Awlaki “has publicly called for attacks against the United States and its allies.”

Washington has considered the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda the most dangerous branch of the terrorist network since its 2009 attempt to bomb a commercial airliner over the United States.

He claimed responsibility for the deadly 2015 attack in Paris against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. But its overseas operations have declined in recent years.

“Although in decline, AQAP remains the most effective terrorist group in Yemen intent on conducting operations in the region and beyond,” said a recent United Nations report on Al Qaeda.

Estimates provided to the UN place AQAP’s total forces at between 3,000 and 4,000 active combatants and passive members.

According to the UN, the group raises money by robbing banks and exchange offices, as well as smuggling weapons, counterfeiting currency and carrying out ransom operations.

Al-Batarfi took over as head of the branch in February 2020. He succeeded leader Qassim al-Rimi, who was killed by a US drone strike ordered by then-President Donald Trump.

Al-Rimi had claimed responsibility for the 2019 attack on the US naval air station in Pensacola, in which a Saudi aviation trainee killed three US sailors.

Under al-Batarfi, AQAP fell further under the influence of Saif al-Adl, who is now believed to have led the militant group after the assassination of Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s second emir general, in an aircraft strike. American drones in Afghanistan. in 2022.

In recent years, Yemen has been embroiled in a war between Houthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, and a Saudi-led coalition backing the country’s exiled government based in Aden.

‘Since 2020, Saif al-Adel has been able to convince al-Batarfi of his strategic approach, focused on confronting Western states and their allies in Yemen: the Saudi-led coalition, the Aden-based government, the Arab Emirates United States and its allies, instead of confronting the Iran-backed Houthi movement,” according to a 2023 report by the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies.

Al-Adl is believed to be in Iran, as part of a former al Qaeda presence in the Islamic Republic.

Tehran has long denied it, but it is backed by documents seized in the 2011 US raid in Pakistan that killed bin Laden, who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Al-Batarfi’s ties to Al-Adl had strained relations in AQAP, experts say. However, he has seen militants arm themselves with bomb-carrying drones, something the Houthis are now using to attack shipping in the Red Sea amid the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

AQAP “developed unmanned aerial systems capabilities, establishing a specialized drone unit, with operational training from the Houthis,” according to a U.N. report from January.

‘Gives priority to the release of its prisoners to replenish ranks; In September, the Houthis released several AQAP members and explosives experts.

The Zaydi Shiite Houthis have previously denied working with AQAP, a Sunni extremist group.

However, AQAP attacks against the Houthis have decreased in recent years, as the militants continue to attack Saudi-led coalition forces.

Yemen’s history and tribal structure have long seen alliances shift rapidly, something its late strongman President Ali Abdullah Saleh called “dancing on snake heads.”

Al-Batarfi, born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, traveled to Afghanistan in 1999 and fought alongside the Taliban during the US-led invasion.

He joined AQAP in 2010 and led forces to take control of Yemen’s Abyan province, according to the United States.

In 2015, he was freed after an AQAP raid in which militants captured Mukalla, the capital of Yemen’s largest province, Hadramawt, amid the chaos of war.

Photos from the time showed al-Awlaki with a Kalashnikov rifle, posing inside a government palace there.

AQAP was later expelled from Mukalla, but has continued attacks and been the target of a campaign of US drone strikes since the administration of then-President George W. Bush.

In 2020, there were claims that al-Bartafi had been detained, which was later denied.

In 2021, he appeared in a militant video and referred to the January 6 riot at the US Capitol as “just the tip of the iceberg of what will happen to them, God willing.”