AQAP commander Fahd Al-Quso who was reported to have been killed in recent large-scale operations against militants in the south has recently appeared in an interview with the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
He denied the rumors he had been killed and reports he was in Waziristan in northern Pakistan. My presence in Yemen is better amid the problematic situation with the government, he said.
Al-Quso, 46, is on the FBI list of the ten most-wanted suspects along with Bin Laden and Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawheri.
The U.S. also offered a $ 5-millon reward for information leading to his arrest after he was accused of playing a key role in the attack on the USS Cole destroyer in 2000.
The paper said its correspondent in the country had met with Al-Quso, Abi Huthaifa Al-Yemeni, in a mountainous area in southern Shabwa province, as it published photos for the correspondent, Arafat Mudabish, and Al-Quso.
Al-Quso did not deny or confirm AQAP has camps in Shabwa mountains, but he said the air strike on his ranch in December 2009 killed five Al-Qaeda members and destroyed the farm.
Moreover, he criticized the Yemeni government, saying it is exaggerating about Al-Qaeda presence on its soil to have a reason for killing innocents.
He added that the government offered him to surrender in return for guarantees and promises that he did not elaborate.