Sana’a, Jan 15 (TF.SF) A top commander of Al Qaeda in Yemen was among six suspected members of the terrorist ,.network who were killed in an air strike on two cars Friday, a senior government official said.
Qassem al-Raimi, the field commander of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was confirmed dead in the airstrike north- east of the capital Sana’a, the official told DPA.Another leading Al Qaeda figure, identified as Ayidh al-Shabwani, was also killed in the raid, said the official who asked not to be named. He said two militants – Ammar al-Waili and Saleh al-Tays – survived the attack and managed to flee.
Yemen’s Defence Ministry said in a statement the raid took place on the border with Saudi Arabia at around 2.30 pm (1130 GMT).The ministry said a manhunt for the two fugitives was initiated.Al-Raimi, 32, was wanted by Yemeni and US authorities over alleged involvement in terrorist plots against US interests in Yemen.He was also on a list of most wanted terrorist suspects published by Saudi authorities in February 2009.Yemeni authorities say al-Raimi was behind the suicide car bombing that killed eight Spanish tourists in Marib province in 2007.Al-Raimi, alias Abu Huraira, had survived a raid on an Al Qaeda safe house in the south-eastern Yemeni province of Hadhramout in August 2008, in which five Al Qaeda operatives were killed.
He was also the target of a raid on an Al Qaeda camp in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan on Dec 17, 2009, which reportedly was carried out by US
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