The al-Qaida leader who took credit for December’s terror attack at the Pensacola Naval Air Station has been killed.
On Thursday, the Trump administration said Qasim al-Rimi was killed in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.
Al-Rimi and al-Qaida took credit for an attack carried out by Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi national who killed three people and injured several others Dec. 6. Alshamrani was a member of the Saudi Air Force in training at the base. He opened fire inside a classroom at the base, killing three and wounding two sheriff’s deputies before one of the deputies killed him. Eight others were also hurt.
»MORE: Saudi national accused in deadly Pensacola NAS attack
Earlier this month, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a video claiming responsibility. The video claimed Alshamrani had been planning for years to attack a U.S. base, and had been training and “selecting” targets.
The video included audio from al-Rimi claiming “full responsibility” for the attack by Alshamrani, calling him “the hero, the courageous knight.”
»MORE: Al-Qaida takes credit for Pensacola NAS attack
“Rimi joined al-Qa’ida in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden,” the Trump administration said in a statement. “Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces.
“His 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 administration said. “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.”
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