According to Yemeni officials, al-Qaida’s number two leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi was killed Friday by a U.S drone strike.
Al-Wuhayshi was the head of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and had a $10 million bounty on his head, the same figure that current ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has.
U.S officials have yet to confirm, though according to CNN, tweets from known AQAP operatives speak of his martyrdom.
One counterterrorism official told MSNBC,”No one is calling jackpot yet.”
The Yemen born Jihadist was previously Bin Laden’s personal secretary and manager of al-Qaida.
Most recent picture of AQAP leader Abu Basir Nasir al-Wuhayshi, apparently on the frontlines in Dofus, south Yemen. pic.twitter.com/7WZ7JHXyuh
— Kévin Jackson (@alleyesonjihad) March 18, 2015
If true this would mark the second killing of a senior al-Qaida leader in the past week, as Mohktar Belmokhtar was also reportedly killed in a drone strike this past Sunday. (Related: U.S Airstrike In Libya Reportedly Kills Terror Leader)