War on terror

U.S. carried out strike on Pensacola shooter's al Qaeda contact in Yemen after the FBI broke through encryption on his iPhones

The US carried out a counter-terrorism operation targeting an al Qaeda operative in Yemen after cellphone evidence linked him the gunman who attacked a Florida naval base.   

Attorney General Bill Barr on Monday announced that the FBI had managed to break through the encryption protecting two iPhones used by Mohammed Alshamrani, the Saudi military trainee who killed three US sailors and injured eight others in the December shooting at the Naval Air Base Station in Pensacola. 

Barr said data stored on the devices led to a strike against one of Alshamrani's contacts with al Qaeda's branch in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). 

'The information from the phones has already proven invaluable in protecting the American people,' he said. 'A counter-terrorism operation targeting AQAP operative Abdullah al-Maliki, one of Alshamrani's overseas associates, was recently conducted in Yemen. We will not hesitate to act against those who harm Americans.' 

He declined to say whether al-Maliki was killed in that operation, but said he was 'very pleased' with the outcome.