Al Qaeda confirmed that Nasir al-Wahishi, its number two figure and leader of its powerful Yemeni affiliate, has been killed in a US strike, making it the harshest blow to the global militant network since the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The US military has evacuated its non-essential government personnel from Yemen due to the high threat of attack by al Qaida which has caused temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa

An air strike killed al Qaida’s second in command in Yemen along with six others travelling with him in a car, US and Yemeni officials said.