TerrorismU.S. drone strike kills leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP)

Two leading al-Qaeda terrorists — Shawki al-Badani, a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) who was designated “global terrorist” by the United States, and Nabil al-Dahab, a local leader of the armed group’s affiliate, Ansar al-Sharia — have been killed in a drone strike in central Yemen yesterday.

They were killed in Yemen’s al-Bayda province.

The U.S. State Department says Badani was linked to at least two plots against the U.S. embassy in Sana’a and a 2012 suicide bombing in the Yemeni capital that killed more than 100 soldiers.

Al Jazeera reports that a 17 June 2014 posting on the State Department Web site says the Yemeni government had offered a $100,000 reward for information about Badani. It also reports Yemeni authorities describing him as one of “the most dangerous terrorists affiliated with al Qaeda.”

Al Jazeera’s Omar Al Saleh reported from the capital Sanaa that “while the killing of the two is a big blow to the al-Qaeda network, I’m not sure the group is weakened by it, since the network’s structure is not dependent on individuals. The network certainly has replacement for its leaders in case they are targeted by the US, or even Yemeni army.”

The United States acknowledges using drones in Yemen but does not comment publicly on the drone strikes and their targets.

The Huffington Post reports that U.S. drone strikes killed at least ten suspected al-Qaeda fighters on Tuesday in central Yemen, where fighting between members of Ansar al-Sharia and rebel Shia Houthi militia also killed 10 people.

Different parts of Yemen have since an increase in fighting since the Iran-supported Houthis rose to dominance in recent months. Houthi forces took over Sanaa in September and have since extended their influence to central and western Yemen.

This move has angered Saudi-supported Sunni tribesmen and al-Qaeda fighters, who vehemently oppose the Shi’a Houthis.