Al-Qaida confirmed that powerful Yemeni leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi has been killed in a U.S. drone strike against the group. The death was confirmed via a video statement posted online early Tuesday. The message by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula said that the leader “was killed in a U.S. drone attack that targeted him along with two other mujahedeen.”

Al-Wuhayshi was the second in command and headed the Yemeni affiliate. He was deputy of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri and had served as Osama bin Ladin’s personal secretary.