DNA test: Remains not al Qaeda bomb-maker

The remains of a Saudi national killed in airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month are not those of a wanted al Qaeda bomb-maker, according to multiple sources in Saudi Arabia who were briefed on the matter.

DNA tests conducted by Saudi officials showed that the remains were not those of Ibrahim al-Asiri, they said.

Saudi officials had obtained a close match to al-Asiri's DNA via remains of his brother, who died in a failed suicide bomb attack. The brother had carried a bomb inside his body, which killed him upon detonation but failed to hit his intended target, Saudi Arabia's security chief.

The sources said that the results were also negative for a DNA match to Nasser al-Wuhayshi, believed to be head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Pennisula. Al-Wuhayshi has been referred to as the "crown prince" of the global terror organization al Qaeda.

Crackdown

The laboratory tests were conducted to determine whether a broad offensive against AQAP, which is considered al Qaeda's most dangerous wing, had eliminated the two men.

The crackdown began over a week ago, resulting in the deaths of more than 60 suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen from April 19 t0 21, Yemeni officials have said.

Operations have included attacks by Yemeni commandos and suspected U.S. drone strikes, a high-level Yemeni government official said.

U.S. special operations troops helped during that offensive, in part by flying Yemeni forces to a remote, mountainous spot in southern Yemen, though no Americans took part in combat, a U.S. official said.

Terror threats

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DNA test: Remains not al Qaeda bomb-maker