White House Says Al-Qaida Leader Qassim Al-Rimi Killed In U.S. Operation

President Trump on Thursday announced a successful U.S. counterterrorism operation that killed Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of a Yemen-based al-Qaida affiliate who claimed responsibility for last year's deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.
In a brief White House statement released late Thursday, the president said he had ordered the operation in Yemen "that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and leader of al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri."
Rimi's death was first reported more than a week ago by The New York Times, in an article attributing the information to three current and former U.S. officials who said he had been killed in a U.S. airstrike. Trump appeared to confirm the operation when he retweeted an article citing the Times' original reporting on Sunday.
The newspaper reported that the strike took place last month, but the White House statement did not provide any details of the operation or its timing.