SANAA: A senior Al-Qaeda leader was killed in Yemen’s central province of Marib, officials and tribal leaders said on Saturday.
Ghalib Al-Zaidi’s death came a week ago in an exchange of fire during clashes with the Houthis, in the Sirwah district of Marib, they told The Associated Press.
The officials and elders told the AP that Al-Zaidi had dozens of Al-Qaeda operatives under his command and had taken part in several battles in the province.
In 2017, Al-Zaidi was placed on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list as a Yemen-based individual “who acts for or on behalf of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).”
The UN found him to be providing the Yemeni affiliate of the global terror network with weapons, funding, and recruits.
Al-Zaidi was also found to have helped AQAP to expand its control in parts of Marib.
Al-Zaidi had been the group’s leader in the province since 2015.
The Arab coalition has been at war with the Iran-allied Houthis for more than three years.
Al-Qaeda and a Daesh affiliate have exploited the chaos to expand their presence in the country.
AQAP is considered the most dangerous branch of the terror network and had attempted attacks on US soil.
Yemen tribal leaders say senior Al-Qaeda leader killed in Marib clash
Yemen tribal leaders say senior Al-Qaeda leader killed in Marib clash
Turkiye seals preliminary deals for largest foreign-funded railway project
- The funding will support the 125 km (78 mile) long Northern Ring Railway Project, which will carry passengers and freight from Gebze to Halkali via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge connecting Istanbul’s two main airports
ISTANBUL: Turkiye has reached preliminary agreements with six international lenders to secure $6.75 billion for a new railway line across the Bosphorus in what would be Turkiye’s largest foreign-financed railway project, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Tuesday.
Once completed, the line that will pass through north Istanbul is expected to carry 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of freight annually, he said, adding that it will open “a new era in logistics” by boosting the country’s rail capacity between Asia and Europe.
The funding will support the 125 km (78 mile) long Northern Ring Railway Project, which will carry passengers and freight from Gebze to Halkali via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge connecting Istanbul’s two main airports.
Preliminary deals were reached with the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the minister said.
“We aim to complete the tender process and hand over the site this year so that (construction) work can start,” Uraloglu said.
An uninterrupted rail freight across the Bosphorus Strait is currently possible through the Marmaray railway tunnel and only during limited hours daily. According to the ministry’s website, a total of just 1.7 million tons of cargo were transported through Marmaray between 2020 and October 2025.
