Dubai--The US killing of Al-Qaeda's second-in-command has dealt a blow to the extremist network but with the rise of the rival Islamic State group the global jihadist threat remains, analysts say.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed in an online video dated June 15 the death of its leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi in a US drone strike in southeast Yemen last week.
The White House hailed Wuhayshi's death as "a major blow to AQAP, Al-Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate, and to Al-Qaeda more broadly."
Two other senior Al-Qaeda leaders in Yemen -- its ideologue Ibrahim al-Rubaish, and Nasser al-Ansi, who appeared in a video claiming the deadly January attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo -- were killed in similar US strikes in April.
For some experts, Wuhayshi's death hits Al-Qaeda beyond his Yemen base as the jihadist leader was regarded since 2013 as network chief Ayman al-Zawahiri's right hand.
A former aide of Osama bin Laden, Wuhayshi was regarded as the operations manager and messenger between the network's various branches.
The weakening of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria in recent years appears to have benefitted IS, which claimed in March its first deadly attacks in Yemen as it seeks to diversify its recruitment base.
"The more Al-Qaeda is weakened, the more jihadist fighters join IS. On the other hand, the more IS is attacked, the more there will be a return of fighters to Al-Qaeda," Mathieu Guidere, expert on Islamist groups at France's University of Toulouse.
Some experts voiced doubts over US State Department claims that the death of Wuhayshi "brings us closer to degrading and ultimately defeating these groups."
AFP
