Influential radical Islamist cleric, Al Awlaki, killed in Yemen

Fri, 2011-09-30 06:39 AM
By: Mark Rockwell

The American-born radical cleric who inspired followers in several attacks in the United States has been killed in Yemen, Yemeni and American officials said on Friday, Sept. 30.

Anwar Al Awlaki, one of the most influential Al Qaeda operatives, who inspired radicalized Islamist attacks on military bases, civilian aircraft, and infrastructure has been confirmed killed in Yemen’s Marib province by the country’s defense ministry on Friday. U.S. officials have also confirmed his death to major news outlets.

Al Awlaki was regarded by the U.S. as one of the most dangerous terrorists after the killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Al Awlaki was believed to be one of the leaders of the Al Qaeda franchise in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. The group is believed to have been behind the plot last year in which bombs were disguised in copy machine cartridges aboard cargo planes bound for the U.S. Al Awlaki is believed to have encouraged and inspired attacks by U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Hasan on Ft. Hood and underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempt to detonate explosives aboard a Northwest Airlines flight in Detroit in December of 2009.

Faisal Shazad, the man who tried to detonate a car bomb in Times Square in May, 2010, told investigators that he was inspired by Al Awlaki and had been in touch with the cleric over the Internet before the attempted attack.

Reports on Friday morning quoted the Yemeni embassy in Washington as saying the cleric was killed about five miles from the Yemeni town of Khashef, which is east of the capital city of Sanaa. An embassy spokesman told CNN the operation that killed Al Awlaki was launched at about 9:55 a.m. local time. There were no details on whetoher the operations included American military assistance.

Al Awlaki was born in New Mexico in 1971 and held dual citizenship in the US and in Yemen. He spoke fluent English and was a potent presence on the Internet in recruiting for AQAP in the West using YouTube video, blogs, and his FaceBook page. Three of the 9/11 terrorists attended his lectures and reportedly had met with him in San Diego in the months before the attacks.

He was considered such a potent threat to the US, that President Obama issued an order to kill or capture him in April 2010. It was the first time such an order has been issued for an American citizen.

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