Sanaa, July 22 (ANI): A senior leader of Yemen's Al-Qaeda branch has been killed in fighting in the south of the country, the Defense Ministry has claimed.
A ministry statement said Ayed al-Shabwani was killed in fighting near the town of Zinjibar, a provincial capital that has been held by Al-Qaeda-linked militants since May.
The statement said one of the leader's cousins, Awad al-Shabwani, was also killed in the fighting, but it gave no further details, the Washington Post reports.
The government then claimed the airstrike killed al-Shabwani along with Al-Qaeda's military chief, Qassim al-Raimi, and four other operatives of the group.
Al-Qaeda, however, released a statement shortly afterward denying any of its men were killed in the raid.Ayed al-Shabwani has been on the government's list of most-wanted Al-Qaeda linked militants.
He is accused of providing sanctuary for top Al-Qaeda figures in the country and was implicated in several fatal attacks on security troops and police officers. (ANI)
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