DUBAI: Al-Qaeda in Yemen confirmed the death of its leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi, number two in the global jihadi organization, in a U.S. drone strike, in a video statement posted online.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula also said it chose its military chief Qassem al-Rimi as its new leader, in the statement posted by Al-Qaeda's Al-Malahem media arm and dated June 15.

Wuhayshi "was killed in a U.S. drone attack that targeted him along with two other mujahedeen," who were also killed, said the statement read by a long-bearded man.

The statement said that a number of Al-Qaeda chiefs met and chose Rimi as Wuhayshi's successor.

AQAP is behind several plots against the United States, including an attempt to blow up a US commercial airliner on Christmas Day 2009.