The leader of the al Qaeda branch in Yemen has been in prison since October, and the terrorist group has eroded its ranks caused by defections, according to a United Nations report released on Thursday.
The report marked official confirmation that AQPA chief Khalid Batarfi was detained after unconfirmed reports. His arrest represents an advertising constraint for the group, which promotes the idea of ”martyrdom” among its followers and can provide potentially invaluable intelligence to United States-led counterterrorism efforts.
Batarfi was arrested and his deputy, Saad Atef al Awlaqi, died during an “operation in the city of Ghayda, governorate of Al-Mahrah, in October”, according to the UN Security Council report of a UN monitoring team which tracks Al Qaeda, Islamic State and other extremist groups.
The report offered no further details about the arrest or where Batarfi is being held.
The US intelligence community and the Pentagon were not immediately available for comment.
The UN report said that AQAP has faced internal setbacks in recent months. “In addition to the loss of leadership, AQAP is suffering an erosion of its ranks caused by dissensions and defections, led mainly by one of Batarfi’s former lieutenants, Abu Omar al-Nahdi,” the report said.
But AQAP still posed a threat and had carried out a significant attack on Lawdar in December, the report said.
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The United States offered a $ 5 million reward for information about Bartafi, saying he had trained with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, fought alongside the Taliban after 2001 and made public threats against the United States. He was designated a global terrorist by the State Department in 2018.
The UN report also warned that an eventual relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions could pave the way for an increase in Islamic State attacks.