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The Obama administration has authorised the killing of a radical Muslim
cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen believed to be hiding in
Yemen and thought to have shifted from encouraging attacks on the US to
participating in them. Published: 10:43AM BST 07 Apr 2010
The Telegraph UK Killing of radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, authorised by US Al-Awlaki has emerged as a prominent al-Qaeda recruiter and has been
tied by US intelligence to the 9/11 hijackers, along with Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound
airliner on Christmas Day, as well as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army
psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people in November at Fort Hood, Texas.
American counter terrorism officials say they believe al-Awlaki has
become a recruiter for the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula terrorist
network, feeding prospects into plots aimed at the US and at Americans
abroad, according to officials. It is extremely rare, if not unprecedented, for an American to be
approved for targeted killing, officials said. A former senior legal
official in the administration of George W. Bush said he did not know of
any American who was approved for targeted killing under the former
president. Al-Awlaki, 38, recently was added to the CIA target list after a special
government review of his activities, prompted by his status as a US
citizen, the source said. He is to be captured or killed. Al-Awlaki, a US citizen born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, has used
his personal web site to encourage Muslims around the world to kill US
troops in Iraq. Yemeni security officials say they believe he is hiding
in a region of the mountainous nation that has become a refuge for
Islamic militants.
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