The leader of Al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) appears to be still at large despite a United Nations report which indicated that he had been under arrest for several months.
Corresponding open sources reports (OSINT) including one from the SITE Intelligence Group and two local tribal leaders on Thursday, 11th February 2021 reported that the AQAP leader was seen the latest video released by the jihadist group.
Khalid Batarfi, who has been the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for about a year, talks about the storming of the US Congress last month in the video, which came out Wednesday, 10th February 2021.
The video, which opens with footage of the January 6 assault by Donald Trump supporters, belies reports that Batarfi was under arrest, according to the SITE, Intelligence report which monitors jihadist organizations.
The 20-minute video is titled “America and the Painful Seizure,”. AQAP leader encourages jihadists on storming the Congress saying it is only the tip of the iceberg of what will come to them probably in the subsequent attacks.
A report filed to the UN Security Council last week had indicate that Batarfi was arrested and his deputy, Saad Atef al-Awlaqi, killed during an operation in Ghayda City, Al-Mahrah governorate, in October. However, the UN report, which summarised global potential jihadist threats, did not disclose his whereabouts or reveal any further details of the October operation.
Khalid Batarfi was appointed as AQAP leader in February 2020 following the death of his predecessor Qassim al-Rimi in a US air strike in Yemen.
He was designated a global terrorist by the US State Department in 2018 and has appeared in numerous AQAP videos over recent years. U.S. considers AQAP to be the worldwide jihadist network’s most dangerous branch and has conducted several drones strikes against the leaders of the jihadist group.
AQAP took credit for the 2019 mass shooting at a U.S. naval base in Florida, in which a Saudi air force officer killed three American sailors and indication of its intention to strike U.S. and it allies.
In Yemen, AQAP has carried out terror operations against both the Houthis and government forces as well as sporadic attacks abroad, including on the offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo in 2015.
Though security analysts say the group’s abilities have dwindled, the jihadist group still inspires attacks carried out by “lone wolf” jihadists or former operatives.
