SANAA, Yemen — A senior al Qaeda commander was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen, a Yemeni official told FOX News Channel.
Mohammed al Umda, an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) military leader who also was tasked with providing logistical and financial support, was the target of Sunday’s strike.
Umda was trained under Osama bin Laden’s supervision in Afghanistan and was involved in the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker off Yemen. He was ranked fourth on Yemen’s most wanted list.
Umda was killed when his convoy was targeted in the remote desert region of al Samdah, in central Yemen.
The Obama administration has been seeking to expand the drone campaign in the al Qaeda-infested country.
US-born al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in September last year, which President Obama hailed as a “major blow” to the terror network worldwide.