Yemen says Al Qaeda-linked cleric Awlaki killed

Dubai: Anwar al-Awlaki, the public face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed today in a US airstrike in Yemen, dealing another body-blow to the terror network after the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May.

A “successful joint intelligence-sharing operation” between Yemen and the United States led to the attack that killed al-Awlaki, a Yemeni government official said in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital.

US-born Awlaki, 40, is described by American officials as the “chief of external operations” of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

A Yemeni defence ministry official said that an airstrike hit Awlaki’s motorcade but gave no details about the operation or who conducted it. The US-born militant cleric was believed to be hiding in Yemen.

Three others, including Samir Khan, an American of Pakistani origin, were killed with al-Awlaki, reported Yemen’s state-run Saba news agency, citing an official security source. Saba said Khan specialised in computer programming for al Qaeda.

Awlaki was killed about 8 kilometres from the Yemeni town of Khashef, east of the capital, Sanaa, said Mohammed Basha, a Yemen Embassy spokesman in Washington.

A senior US administration official confirmed al- Awlaki’s death, CNN reported.

Awlaki, of Yemeni descent, was on the run in Yemen since December 2007. The US regards the 40-year-old al-Awlaki as the biggest threat to its homeland security and named him a “specially designated global terrorist” for his alleged role in a number of attacks.

Born in New Mexico, Awlaki, eloquent in English and Arabic, preached at a mosque in Virginia before leaving the United States for the Middle East.

US officials say Awlaki helped recruit Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the Nigerian charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic flight as it landed in Detroit on December 25, 2009.

Awlaki is also said to have exchanged emails with accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hassan who killed a dozen fellow soldiers and a civilian in a rampage at the Texas base.

Awlaki’s death dealt yet another blow to the al Qaeda network, reeling from the killing and capture this year of several top leaders, most notably bin Laden.

He narrowly survived an American drone assault in May after he switched vehicles with fellow jihadis, a senior security official was quoted as saying by CNN.

At a US congressional hearing earlier this year, the then Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter had said: “I actually consider al Qaeda in the Arab peninsula with al-Awlaki as a leader within that organisation as probably the most significant threat to the US.”

Awlaki’s killing, if confirmed, is significant, because Awlaki is able to reach out to people susceptible to radicalisation through his use of the media, the BBC reported.

In a video posted in November last year he called for the killing of Americans, saying they were from the “party of devils”.

Weeks later, he survived an air strike in Shabwa province in which at least 30 militants were killed.

PTI