The remains of a Saudi national killed in airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month are not those of a wanted al Qaeda bomb-maker, according to multiple sources in Saudi Arabia who were briefed on the matter. <\/p>\n
DNA tests conducted by Saudi officials showed that the remains were not those of Ibrahim al-Asiri, they said. <\/p>\n
Saudi officials had obtained a close match to al-Asiri's DNA via remains of his brother, who died in a failed suicide bomb attack. The brother had carried a bomb inside his body, which killed him upon detonation but failed to hit his intended target, Saudi Arabia's security chief. <\/p>\n
The sources said that the results were also negative for a DNA match to Nasser al-Wuhayshi, believed to be head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Pennisula. Al-Wuhayshi has been referred to as the \"crown prince\" of the global terror organization al Qaeda. <\/p>\n
Crackdown <\/p>\n
The laboratory tests were conducted to determine whether a broad offensive against AQAP, which is considered al Qaeda's most dangerous wing, had eliminated the two men. <\/p>\n
The crackdown began over a week ago, resulting in the deaths of more than 60 suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen from April 19 t0 21, Yemeni officials have said. <\/p>\n
Operations have included attacks by Yemeni commandos and suspected U.S. drone strikes, a high-level Yemeni government official said. <\/p>\n
U.S. special operations troops helped during that offensive, in part by flying Yemeni forces to a remote, mountainous spot in southern Yemen, though no Americans took part in combat, a U.S. official said. <\/p>\n
Terror threats <\/p>\n
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Read the rest here: The remains of a Saudi national killed in airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month are not those of a wanted al Qaeda bomb-maker, according to multiple sources in Saudi Arabia who were briefed on the matter. DNA tests conducted by Saudi officials showed that the remains were not those of Ibrahim al-Asiri, they said Continue reading
\nDNA test: Remains not al Qaeda bomb-maker<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"