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.
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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 killed
A 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.