article_snippet.sent: (CNN)A top al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader -- who a few years ago was in a U.S. detention facility -- was among five killed in an airstrike in Yemen, the terror group said, showing Yemen is vulnerable even as Yemen appears close to civil war.
article_snippet.sent: Who's Who' of al Qaeda terrorists on the Arabian peninsula ... who have either graduated or escaped from the program en route to terrorist acts.
article_snippet.sent: The United States has been active in Yemen, working closely with governments there to go after AQAP leaders like Ibrahim al-Rubaish.
article_snippet.sent: Yemen, however, has been in disarray since Houthi rebels began asserting Houthi rebels last year.
article_snippet.sent: Houthi rebels even managed to take over the capital of Sanaa and, in January, force out Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi -- who had been a close U.S. ally in Yemen anti-terror fight.
article_snippet.sent: Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi -- who had been a close U.S. ally in its anti-terror fight still claims Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi -- who had been a close U.S. ally in its anti-terror fight is Yemen's legitimate leader, and Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi -- who had been a close U.S. ally in its anti-terror fight is working with a Saudi-led military coalition to target Houthis and supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
article_snippet.sent: Meanwhile, Yemen has been awash in violence and chaos -- which in some ways has been good for groups such as AQAP.
article_snippet.sent: A prison break earlier this month freed 270 prisoners, including some senior AQAP figures, according to a senior Defense Ministry official, and the United States pulled the last of Yemen special operations forces out of Yemen last month, which some say makes things easier for AQAP.
article_snippet.sent: CNN's Anas Hamdan and Merieme Arif contributed to this report.