Yemen-based al-Qaida wing confirms death of Awlaki
Terrorist group announces "martyrdom" of US-born cleric on website ten days after US had said he was killed in CIA drone strike.
By REUTERSAnwar al Awlaki_311(photo credit: Courtesy)
DUBAI - Al-Qaida's Yemen-based wing confirmed on Monday the death of US-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who US officials said was killed 10 days ago in a CIA drone strike.Awlaki, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP) most high-profile member, was considered an influential international recruiter to al-Qaida and responsible for recruiting militants and planning attacks against the United States.RELATED:Obama hails Awlaki killing as blow to al-Qaida'Secret US memo laid out justification for Awlaki hit'Analysis: Dangerous al-Qaida propagandist eliminated"We confirm to the jihadi Ummah (nation) that is uprising against oppression, the martyrdom of the mujahid heroic sheikh Abu Abdul Rahman Anwar bin Nasser al-Awlaki," AQAP said on a website, according to the SITE online monitoring service.Awlaki, identified by US intelligence as "chief of external operations" for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in a CIA drone attack in a remote Yemeni town, US officials announced late last month.
The US announcement confirmed an earlier statement by Yemen's Defense Ministry that he had been killedA Yemeni security official said Awlaki, who is of Yemeni descent, was hit in a morning air raid in the northern al-Jawf province that borders oil giant Saudi Arabia. He said four others killed with him were suspected al-Qaida members.Awlaki had been implicated in a botched attempt by AQAP to bomb a US-bound plane in 2009 and had contacts with a US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at a US military base the same year.US authorities had branded him a "global terrorist" and last year authorized his capture or killing, but Sanaa had previously appeared reluctant to act against him.
