Wanted Al-Qaeda leader confirmed dead

Terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, in Yemen, has announced the loss of life of its chief.

An official statement from the group said Khalid Batarfi has passed away but did not provide details on how he died.

Batarfi, a Saudi national, was in his 40s. He became an Al-Qaeda chief in 2020.

The United States had labelled him a global terrorist in 2018 and placed a $5m (£3.9m) bounty on his head.

The group described him as one “who Allah took.”

The group also announced the selection of Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki as its new chief.

The departed Batarfi and Awlaki led “conflicting wings inside the group”, according to UN sources.

What is Al-Qaeda?

Al-Qaeda is a militant organization led by Sunni Jihadists who define themselves as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic state known as the Caliphate.

Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include people from other ethnic groups.

Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian, economic and military targets of the US and its allies; such as the 1998 US embassy bombings, the US Cole bombing and the September 11 attacks.

The organization is designated as a terrorist group by NATO, UN Security Council, the European Union, and various countries around the world.

Al Qaeda’s primary enemy is the United States, which it sees as the root cause of the Middle East’s problems.

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