Innovation in murder: The dark genius of master bombmaker

The terror threat emanating from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen has focused attention on the group’s cunning leader, Nasir al Wuhayshi.

And for good reason. Wuhayshi, who was personally groomed by Osama bin Laden, is said to be a highly effective organiser and charismatic leader in the mould of his now-deceased mentor.

Recently, Wuhayshi was elevated to the No 2 position in al Qaeda’s core organisation, even while running AQAP. But despite Wuhayshi’s growing stature among terror masterminds, no AQAP operative worries the US more than Ibrahim al Asiri, the group’s diabolically clever bombmaker, according to two US counter-terrorism officials.