Sanaa , Yemen ( CNN ) -- The deputy leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and one of the most wanted men in Saudi Arabia has been killed , a prominent jihadist announced Tuesday , though officials in the group 's home base of Yemen said they had no evidence of his death . Abu Sufyan al-Azdi , also known as Saeed al-Shahri , died `` after a long journey in fighting the Zio-Crusader campaign , '' jihadist Abdulla bin Muhammad said on his Twitter account . The tweet was reported by SITE Intelligence Group , which monitors global terrorism . Read more : Senior al Qaeda leader killed in Pakistan , officials say . It was not clear how al-Azdi died . SITE said media reports indicated he died of injuries incurred in a December drone strike . The Arabic news network Al-Arabiya reported al-Azdi 's death , citing his relatives . Read more : Al Qaeda leader calls for kidnapping of Westerners . Three senior Yemeni Defense Ministry officials told CNN the country has no evidence proving his death . `` We have no evidence to prove his death and our government continues to hunt down the leaderships of the terror network , '' one of the officials told CNN on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to media . Read more : Amnesty details 'horrific abuses ' in southern Yemen . He said more than 80 suspected al Qaeda militants have been killed since early December but that al-Azdi is still out there . Al-Azdi has been reported dead in the past , the latest incident being in September when Yemen claimed he was killed in an air raid . An audio message released the next month supposedly featured al-Azdi saying he was still alive . Al-Azdi spent six years in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay before being released in 2007 . A Saudi national , he escaped Saudi Arabia to Yemen in 2008 . Read more : CNN Fact Check : Is al Qaeda 's core decimated or is group growing ? U.S. drone activity increased in 2012 targeting senior leaders of AQAP . Monday , a U.S.-led drone strike in Marib , an oil-rich province of Yemen east of the capital , targeted a vehicle carrying alleged al Qaeda operatives . The strike killed two militants , identified by the defense ministry as Ali Saleh Toaiman and Qassim Nasser Toaiman , and wounded five others . Saturday , two U.S drone strikes killed eight people in Marib and another province , al-Baitha . Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi announced in October that Yemen would step up its military operations with the United States against al Qaeda operatives . In response , al Qaeda carried out a number of attacks on military and security commanders , personnel , patrols and installations , killing more than 60 people , according to Yemen 's Interior Ministry .
Abu Sufyan al-Azdi was deputy leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . A prominent jihadist announces his death . Three senior Yemeni defense officials , however , say they ca n't confirm it . Al-Azdi was one of the most wanted men in Saudi Arabia .