© 2023 88.9 KETR
Header Image 10-22.png
Public Radio for Northeast Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
88.9 FM broadcast antenna upgrades are underway and will affect the ability to tune into the station for the duration. Our programming continues, however, via our live stream at ketr.org, on TuneIn radio, via the NPR app, and at Apple Music.

Al-Qaida Says Its No. 2 Leader Was Killed In U.S. Drone Strike

Nasir al-Wahishi, the leader of al-Qaida's branch in Yemen and the group's second-in-command overall, died in a U.S. drone attack, according to a video statement that claims to be from Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

The U.S. has not confirmed the account.

Al-Wahishi was part of al-Qaida's "old guard," NPR's Alice Fordham reports for Morning Edition. Al-Wahishi had fought in Afghanistan; he had also been Osama bin Laden's personal secretary.

Listen to the Story

"But his main importance in the eyes of the West was as a leader of a group that was particularly focused on what Osama bin Laden called 'the far enemy' — on the United States," Alice says. "He was the leader of a group that masterminded several attempted terror plots designed to hit the West. You'll remember the young man who attempted a plane bombing in 2009, with explosives in his underwear."

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula also claimed responsibility for January's attack on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris.

In the statement announcing al-Wahishi's death, a senior official from AQAP also said that the leader's deputy would step up to take his place.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.