The deputy leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and one of the most wanted men in Saudi Arabia has been killed, a prominent jihadist announced Tuesday, though officials in the group’s home base of Yemen said they had no evidence of his death.
Abu Sufyan al-Azdi, also known as Saeed al-Shahri, died “after a long journey in fighting the Zio-Crusader campaign,” jihadist Abdulla bin Muhammad said on his Twitter account. The tweet was reported by SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors global terrorism.
It was not clear how al-Azdi died. SITE said media reports indicated he died of injuries incurred in a December drone strike.