Nayif al-Qahtani, a key liaison between al Qaeda cells in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, was killed when a bomb he had been working with blew up, U.S. military officials confirmed to Fox News Channel Friday.
U.S. officials, who said they had been watching al-Qahtani but insisted they had nothing to do with his death, described him as a “very influential al Qaeda figure, a vibrant guy linked to ongoing operations planning.”�� The officials added that “his death will have an impact,”�� according to Fox News.
The U.S. State Department put terror sanctions on al-Qahtani on May 11, describing him as a leader who managed al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operations in Yemen and received annual support from abroad to supply attacks against targets in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
An al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula newsletter announced al-Qahtani’s death a week after the terror sanctions were enacted, saying he died in Yemen’s southern Abyan province, Fox News reported.
