New AQAP chief calls for attacks on U.S.

 

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.