President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that the US had killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - days after the jihadist group claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a US naval base. The US "conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qassim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)," Trump said in a White House statement.

AQAP claimed responsibility on Sunday for a December 6 shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, in which a Saudi Air Force officer killed three American sailors. The announcement came with Trump touting US resolve following the killings of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October last year and top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani three months later. Washington considers AQAP to be the worldwide jihadist network's most dangerous branch.