The internationally recognized Yemeni government's counterterrorism force, known as "Task Force 22," killed Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari, the chief spokesperson of Islamic State and the reported head of the terror group's Yemen cells, Yemen's Central State Security Agency said on Tuesday.
The counterterrorism force was aided by forces from the Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition, the statement noted.
According to the statement, the operation caused no civilian casualties.
Islamic State's official media has not confirmed or denied the raid or Ansari's death at the time of writing.
While official government statements did not name the location of the operation, Yemeni media aligned with the internationally recognized government reported that the operation took place early Tuesday morning, when forces raided a mud house in Seiyun, Hadramout Province.
Local media said residents heard two consecutive explosions at about 1 a.m. in Seiyun, coinciding with the raid conducted by "Task Force 22" and coalition counterterror forces.
One local outlet cited sources who reported that Ansari was wounded and arrested during the raid, later succumbing to his wounds. Another person who was staying in the house was killed during the raid, the sources claimed.
Ansari became terror group's chief spokesperson in 2023
Islamic State named Ansari as its chief spokesperson in August 2023. In February, the terror group published an audio message attributed to Ansari, in which he attacked the Ahmed al-Sharaa-led Syrian government and called on ISIS members to continue fighting against Damascus and Sharaa's regime.
IS leaders often take a nom de guerre while holding official positions, and thus "Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari" was likely not the terror leader's legal name. An unconfirmed Yemeni media report cited sources identifying his legal identity as "Mithaq Thabit Haitham al-Radfani," but official sources have not yet corroborated this.