Yemen's al-Qaeda media chief 'killed in air strike'

[Gerald]

The media chief of militant group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been killed in an air strike in southern Yemen, Yemeni officials say.The defence ministry said Ibrahim al-Banna, an Egyptian national, and six other militants were killed in the attack in Shabwa province on Friday.Some reports said the attack involved US drones, others that it was by Yemeni planes.US drones killed the group's leader, Anwar al-Awlaki, last month.'Pipeline attack'The Yemeni defence ministry said Banna was killed by Yemeni war planes in Shabwa, a militant stronghold east of Aden, late on Friday It called him one of the group's "most dangerous operatives", who was wanted internationally for "planning attacks both inside and outside Yemen".However a local official told Agence France-Presse news agency that "three strikes, apparently American" had been launched against militant targets, although he said one had hit a mosque.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15319980


Note: 15 October 2011 Last updated at 08:41 GMT