Cairo (Reuters) - Al-Qaeda has confirmed the death of Qassim al-Raymi, the leader of Islamist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Site Intelligence Group reported on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that the United States had killed al-Raymi in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.

The United States regards AQAP as one of the deadliest branches of the al Qaeda network founded by Osama bin Laden.