Background of Notorious Al Qa’ida Group’s New Leader

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness has published an Intelligence Note on Khalid Batarfi, who was recently appointed leader of the infamous al Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) following the death of former head Qassim al-Rimi. As discussed in the Intelligence Note, Batarfi joined AQAP in 2010 as a senior commander. He has played an important role in AQAP propaganda by calling for attacks in the West. In 2018, he released a video threatening the U.S. after it announced it would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. More recently, AQAP claimed “full responsibility” for the deadly shooting at Naval Air Pensacola, although it was al-Rimi who was featured in the video in which the announcement was made. WaterISAC first reported on Batarfi’s appointment to lead AQAP in the February 25 Security and Resilience Update, referencing an article from Homeland Security Today.