"Unclear Circumstances Surrounding Death of Al-Qaida's Yemen Branch Leader Khalid al-Batarfi"

Al-Qaida's Yemen branch announced the death of its leader, Khalid al-Batarfi, who had a $5 million bounty on his head from the U.S. government. The cause of his death remains unclear, and his successor, Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki, has a $6 million bounty on him. The group, known as AQAP, has been weakened in recent years due to infighting and U.S. drone strikes, but it remains the most dangerous branch of the extremist group still operating. Al-Batarfi's death comes amid Yemen's ongoing war and power struggles within the group.