A top al Qaeda militant who claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack has been killed, according to the SITE intelligence group.

It quoted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as saying Nasser bin ali al Ansi was killed in a US strike in Yemen.

The militant group said he died alongside his eldest son and several others.

The report could not be independently verified.

Al Ansi appeared in video posted online in January claiming AQAP was behind the attack at the office of the satirical magazine in Paris, which left 12 people dead.

He said the gunmen - Said and Cherif Kouachi - had been acting on the orders of al Qaeda's global commander, Ayman al Zawahiri.

He added that the attack was carried out in retaliation for the magazine's publication of images depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

"We, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the messenger of Allah," he said.

"The leadership of (AQAP) was the party that chose the target and plotted and financed the plan.

"The heroes were chosen and they answered the call.

"Congratulations to you, the Nation of Islam, for this revenge that has soothed our pain."