CFR Daily News Brief: Al-Qaeda Number Two Killed in Yemen

Daily News Brief

TOP OF THE AGENDA Al-Qaeda Number Two Killed in Yemen Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed the death (AP) of its leader, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, in a video released Tuesday. Wuhayshi, a former personal assistant to Osama Bin Laden, was seen as the al-Qaeda network's second in command (FT). Qassim al-Raimi, AQAP's military commander, had been tapped to succeed Wuhayshi. The U.S. aerial counterterrorism raid comes amid fears that conflict between warring parties in Yemen has opened the door for AQAP to gain ground (NYT) in the country. ANALYSIS "It is more likely that in Zawahiri's absence, al Qaeda would drift into ISIS' camp, offering it manpower, resources, and access to arenas such as Algeria and Yemen where al Qaeda's dominance has so far hindered ISIS' expansion," writes Barak Mendelsohn in Foreign Affairs. "Al-Qaeda and similar groups would likely thrive in a country as poor, unequal, corrupt and poorly governed as Yemen is. But that does not exonerate Yemen's power brokers from charges that they have played a role in enabling AQAP's growth. Their failures have helped create a situation that has given Al-Qaeda significant room to grow. All the key internal and external stakeholders in the country's conflict share some of the blame for creating an environment in Yemen in which groups like AQAP will likely prosper for some time to come," writes Adam Baron in Al Jazeera America. "Wuhayshi's death would show that U.S. counterterrorism efforts continue in Yemen despite the pullout of all special operations forces after Hadi's government fell, under pressure from the Iranian-backed Houthi militants. The U.S. lost a key intelligence partner, raising fears that drone strikes on AQAP members would be less frequent. The U.S. and Hadi government shared intelligence on the terrorist group, and Hadi allowed U.S. drone strikes within his country, despite how unpopular they are throughout the region," write Shane Harris and Nancy A. Youssef in the Daily Beast.