17 Jul 2013

Al-Qaeda confirms deputy leader dead

9:27 pm on 17 July 2013

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has confirmed the death of deputy leader Saeed al-Shehri in an American drone strike.

The killing was first announced in January this year, when Yemeni authorities said he had died after suffering injuries in an operation by Yemeni security forces on 28 November 2012 in the northern province of Saada, the BBC reports.

However, several months later the militant group released what it called a newly delivered address by him.

Senior al-Qaeda official, Ibrahim al Rubaish, has now confirmed the death in a video statement posted online. He said Mr al-Shehri was killed in a drone attack, but did not say when.

The Saudi national was detained at Guantanamo Bay in January 2002 after Pakistan handed him to American authorities, but later freed.