Yemeni official refutes reports on death of al-Qaeda leader

A Yemeni security official has denied the recent reports that deputy leader of the al-Qaeda branch in Yemen Sa’id al-Shihri was killed one week ago in Abyan province, southern Yemen, reports Yemeni state news agency SABA.

According to SABA, Al-Shihri is a Saudi citizen and wanted by the security services in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

The same SABA article noted that Security Director of Abyan province Brigadier General Abdul-Razaq al-Maruni also denied making statements on the death of al-Shihri attributed to him by some media, considering the news disseminated by media outlets about al-Shihri’s death in Lawdar District to be claims that have not been verified yet.

SABA added that the Yemeni official also said that al-Shihri and other al-Qaeda leading figures and elements are still wanted by the Yemeni security services. He added that propagating such news reports was most likely intended to mislead the security.