The US is confident that the top Al Qaeda bomb maker, believed to be the mastermind behind a failed bombing of a US-bound airliner in 2009, has been killed..
Washington has long sought Ibrahim Hassan Al Asiri, a militant with Al Qaeda’s Yemen branch who is one of the world’s most feared bomb makers because of his ability to create hard-to-detect bombs, including some implanted in suicide bombers.
Two US officials, including a senior official, said they were confident Al Asiri had been killed. They were speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“We are pretty confident that he has been killed,” one of the officials said.
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Read more:
Yemeni sources confirm death of Al Qaeda's bomb maker in US strike
Gargash: Al Qaeda in Yemen is weaker than ever
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That official said, however, that the usual fallout from a senior militant being killed, like a eulogy from Yemen’s Al Qaeda branch, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), had not appeared. However, separate US intelligence officials said they did not consider the evidence to be conclusive.
A report by UN experts monitoring ISIS and Al Qaeda for the UN Security Council, which was made public last week, said some states had reported that Al Asiri “may have been killed during the second half of 2017”.
“Given Al Asiri’s past role in plots against aviation, this would represent a serious blow to operational capability,” the UN experts wrote.
US officials cautioned that while his death would be a major symbolic blow to Aqap, Al Asiri’s bomb-making skills almost certainly have been passed to others, and the threat from the group does not appear to have been significantly reduced.
The US military and CIA have carried out strikes in Yemen. Neither commented on reports that Al Asiri had been killed.
Aqap has taken advantage of Yemen’s civil war to strengthen its position in the impoverished Arab state. The militant group still operates in several provinces in south and eastern Yemen.
Intelligence analysts believe that Aqap is one of the groups most capable of carrying out attacks against the US.
Al Asiri is believed to have masterminded the attempted Christmas Day, 2009, bombing of a US-bound passenger jet. A Nigerian man is serving several life sentences in prison for trying to set off the bomb in his underwear.
The US added Al Asiri to its terrorism blacklist in 2011 after he was believed to be the key suspect in the 2010 Al Qaeda parcel bomb plot against America.
Born in 1982 in Saudi Arabia to a military family, Al Asiri has been accused of recruiting his younger brother as a suicide bomber for a failed attack on former Saudi counter-terrorism chief Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in 2009.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
The five pillars of Islam
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
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Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Results:
Men’s wheelchair 200m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 27.14; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 27.81; 3. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 27.81.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: N2 Technology
Founded: 2018
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Startups
Size: 14
Funding: $1.7m from HNIs
