The new leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, has released a message calling for attacks on the United States.
“All of you must direct and gather your arrows and swords against it,” Qasm al-Rimi, also known as Abu Hureira al-Sanaani, said in the video.
He assumed command of AQAP after Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the group’s previous leader, was killed in drone strike in Yemen last month. Al-Rimi eulogized the ex-leader and pledged allegiance to the head of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
AQAP is one of the most dangerous branches of the jihadist network.
Prior to his current position, al-Rimi was the group’s military chief.
“Qasm al-Rimi was considered the brains of the operation,” CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said when news of al-Wuhayshi’s death broke. “For more than a decade, he’s really been at the helm of the military side of things for AQAP but also planning their large international operations.”