The Pentagon says a US airstrike in Yemen on Sunday killed eight operatives of a group known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, including a key leader.

A spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, said the airstrike on April 23 killed Abu Ahmed Awlaqi (ah-lah’-key), who had led AQAP operations in Shabwa province. Davis said he was a plotter of external attacks and had facilitated the extremist group’s transfer of weapons and explosives.

Davis said seven other AQAP operatives also were killed in the airstrike. The US military in recent months has been conducting what Davis described as a sustained campaign to kill AQAP leaders and other operatives in Yemen.

-AP