White House: al-Qaeda leader and founder Qasim al-Rimi “successfully eliminated”
“The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death.”
Late Thursday night, the White House announced that yet another counterterrorism operation had taken place and this time, Qasim al-Rimi, founder and al Qa-ida leader, was “successfully eliminated.”
The official White House statement:
At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Rimi joined al-Qa’ida in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden. Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces. His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qa’ida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security. The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.
al-Rimi was openly hostile to the US and US interests, a flashback:
Three years ago, the Trump administration attempted to capture (or kill) al-Rimi, but was unsuccessful.
More from NBC:
Tribal leaders in Yemen said Saturday that a suspected U.S. drone strike destroyed a building housing al Qaeda militants the previous week, and Trump retweeted several tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation that the Jan. 25 strike killed al-Rimi, The Associated Press reported at the time. The Arabian Peninsula branch is often referred to as AQAP.
“Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces,” the White House said.
Al-Rimi was placed on the United States’ most-wanted terrorist list after taking over al Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate in 2015.
A 2017 Navy SEAL raid in Yemen also had a secret objective to capture or kill al-Rimi, but he survived, military and intelligence officials told NBC News at the time. Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens of SEAL Team 6, 14 al Qaeda fighters and some civilians were killed in a firefight, officials have said.
A Defense Department spokesman at the time denied that al-Rimi was a target and said the military “never had any hope, intention or plan” of killing or capturing him in the operation.
Al-Rimi was also the deputy to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is said to have succeeded Osama bin Laden as the leader of al Qaeda, the White House statement said.
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Comments
No place to hide. Sure beats wasting $2 trillion on nation building and permanent war.
Funny what happens when your chief hangs with the club of “God Bless America” instead of the church of “God D—m America”.
Will Pelosi, Nadler and Schiff accuse Trump of murder now?
Funny how people have no problem with body counts when they are in the hundreds and thousands but once it involves one man with a name, it becomes murder.
Of course they will. And they’ll even accuse him of a worse crime. The crime of not informing them of what his plans were. And to ignore the terrible trio is a crime worse than murder.
If Congress wan’t notified, that’s impeachable …. don’t cha know? Also, this could start WWIII …. don’t cha know? War Powers Act …. and all that good stuff.
no leaks = success
excellent, mr president
yet another clear message to terrorists
if you want to harm americans and our allies, you’re living on borrowed time
Which clearly means that Pelosi wasn’t consulted on this matter.
Good for Pres. Trump.
Waiting for the howls of outrage from Pelosi . . .
In a perverse way I hope San Fran Nan & Co does complain that they were not notified in advance, because President Trump is free to explain in no uncertain terms why they were not advised. He can explain to the American public that they are anti-American and would leak the information and thus endanger our people on the ground.
He should make such response with a copy of that newspaper bearing the headline “Acquitted” tucked under his arm.
I’m quite sure another of Pelosi’s screws has come loose over this news.
I’d say all of Pelosi’s screws were well and truly stripped and fallen out right after the news that Trump had beat the unbeatable candidate in 2016. She has no screws left to give for her country. 😛
“She has no screws left to give for her country.”
Thank goodness for that!
Who gets votes al rimi won in iowa
only 62% of him was left…
Rimi’s blaze of glory, next please.
Now there needs to be a barrage of cartoons showing Rimi impotent when he got to the harem of 72 virgins. For example, one could be of the whole harem laughing and pointing at his charred stub.
The most revered terrorist leader. h/t WaPo
A “warrior poet”….etc etc etc…
Another austere scholar bites the dust.
We need to have a Terrorist of The Month Club.
He Abu, this is your month, keep an eye on the sky!