US Born Yemen mullah Anwar Awlaki now shovelling coal

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15121879

Awlaki was said to be on a US hit list

Islamist cleric Anwar Awlaki 'killed in Yemen'

2011/09/30 08:59 ET

US-born radical Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a key al-Qaeda leader, has been killed in Yemen, the country's defence ministry said.

Unnamed US officials confirmed the reports, but have not provided details.

Awlaki, of Yemeni descent, has been on the run in Yemen since December 2007.

The US had named him a "specially designated global terrorist" for his alleged role in a number of attacks and US President Barack Obama is said to have personally ordered his killing.

The defence ministry statement said only that he died "along with some of his companions".

It gave no further details of his death.

But tribal sources told AFP news agency Awlaki was killed in an air strike in the eastern Marib province, said to be an al-Qaeda stronghold.

The death was also announced on Yemeni TV.

An unnamed US official told the Associated Press he was killed by US drone strike. However, the cleric's body was said to be in Yemeni hands.

One senior official told ABC News it was "a great day for America".

He said Awlaki had been "very operational, every day he was plotting".

US intelligence had had "a very intense focus on him" for some time, he said, were waiting for him to be away from civilians so they could strike.

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera says the killing, if confirmed, is significant, because Awlaki's use of modern media meant he was able to reach out and inspire people susceptible to radicalisation.

The reported death comes amid concerns in Washington about the impact of Yemen's political crisis on its ability to go after al-Qaeda militants.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh is facing a widespread protest movement, along with an armed insurrection by renegade army units and tribal fighters.

Mr Saleh, who was injured three months ago when his residence was shelled, returned last week after treatment in Saudi Arabia.

He said in an interview published on Thursday that he will not stand down, as promised in a deal brokered by Gulf States, if his opponents are allowed to stand in elections to succeed him.

Analysys

Frank Gardner -- BBC security correspondent

This is the biggest blow to al-Qaeda since the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Anwar al-Awlaki was possibly the organisation's most inspirational cleric and ideologue in the Middle East.

Using the internet and an online magazine called Inspire, Awlaki encouraged his followers to attack Western targets. He has been blamed for inspiring US army major Nidal Hassan to kill his fellow soldiers in Texas and for inspiring the British woman Roshonara Choudhry to stab her MP Stephen Timms because he had supported the invasion of Iraq.

Awlaki was a charismatic cleric and fluent English speaker, and he may be hard for al-Qaeda to replace.

Targeted before

Awlaki is described by US officials as the "chief of external operations" of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

He had played a "significant operational role in the Christmas 2009 Detroit airline bomb attempt, said officials, and in the plot which sent two bombs in printer cartridges on US-bound cargo planes in 2010. They were intercepted in the UK and Dubai.

Awalaki has been implicated in the 2009 US army base killings in Fort Hood, Texas, and a failed bombing in New York's Times Square in 2010.

When he was imam of a San Diego mosque in the 1990s, his sermons were attended by two future 9/11 hijackers, Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi.

He also lived in the UK from 2002-04, where he spent several months giving lectures to Muslim youth.

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.

He has been reported dead in the past following US air strikes on southern Yemen in December 2009 and November 2010. He was the target of a US drone attack that killed two al Qaeda operatives in southern Yemen on 5 May.

The official who spoke to ABC said there had been "a good opportunity to hit him" on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks this year, but that "it never materialised".

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

• Formed in January 2009 by a merger between al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and Yemen
• Based in eastern Yemen
• Led by Nasser al-Wuhayshi, a Yemeni former aide to Osama Bin Laden. Deputy leader is Saudi ex-Guantanamo inmate Said al-Shihri
• Aims to topple Saudi monarchy and Yemeni government, and establish an Islamic caliphate
• Came to prominence with Riyadh bombings in 2003, and 2008 attack on US embassy in Sanaa
• Says it was behind an attempt to blow up US passenger jet in December 2009

[sandinista! 1,816]

So what's the next step? Extra-judicial killing of a US citizen without due process on US soil next time? In the 'burbs? Did I miss the part at Obama's inauguration where we made him judge, jury and executioner in addition to president in this fair land of ours?

[Ban Hammer 12,842]

So what's the next step? Extra-judicial killing of a US citizen without due process on US soil next time? In the 'burbs? Did I miss the part at Obama's inauguration where we made him judge, jury and executioner in addition to president in this fair land of ours?

agreed.

[skiptex 225]

whatever.. he wasn't american citizen anymore.. i am sure the goverment changed his status, as soon as he started plotting/killing Americans..

i am glad that scum is dead!

[Saddle Bronc 124]

...

i am glad that scum is dead!

agreed 10,000,000%

[ready4ONE 5,400]

So what's the next step? Extra-judicial killing of a US citizen without due process on US soil next time? In the 'burbs? Did I miss the part at Obama's inauguration where we made him judge, jury and executioner in addition to president in this fair land of ours?

Are you not at least a little releaved one less false claimant to your religion is gone? This guy was not a good spokesman for Islam. He was dangerous and I personally feel no sadness at his passing.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Are you not at least a little releaved one less false claimant to your religion is gone? This guy was not a good spokesman for Islam. He was dangerous and I personally feel no sadness at his passing.

Extra-judicial assassinations of U.S. citizens by their own government does not make me feel "relieved" at all - I find it very disturbing and it makes me feel very unsafe. Doesn't anybody care about the Constitution ? I guess it's just a piece of paper...

[Nina~ 431]

Extra-judicial assassinations of U.S. citizens by their own government does not make me feel "relieved" at all - I find it very disturbing and it makes me feel very unsafe. Doesn't anybody care about the Constitution ? I guess it's just a piece of paper...

You feel more safe with a mad-man who proselytizes impressionable young people to kill all Americans?

[skiptex 225]

Extra-judicial assassinations of U.S. citizens by their own government does not make me feel "relieved" at all - I find it very disturbing and it makes me feel very unsafe. Doesn't anybody care about the Constitution ? I guess it's just a piece of paper...

lets just say.. i care more for the many people who lost family members due to this UNamerican american's radical teachings..

as long as you are not on the interent trying to recruit radical terrorist and planning the murders of innocent people..

i am fairly confident YOU will not have to be worried about a DRONE sending a missile at you while driving your car.. like this guy.. this was done so the rest of us can be safer

i live about 30 min away from where that sicko doctor at fort hood walked around shooting unarmed serviceman... it made my day just that much brighter to hear the news!!

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

You feel more safe with a mad-man who proselytizes impressionable young people to kill all Americans?

?

The laws of the Constitution are there for a reason.

[skiptex 225]

?

The laws of the Constitution are there for a reason.

he was in YEMEN.. its kind of hard for our laws to work over there.. just like YEMEN laws won't really work here

ps.. i am not trying to change your opinion.. you are in US of America.. and you have the RIGHT to FREE SPEECH.. but listening to other opinions is good and can be enlighting, at times.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

lets just say.. i care more for the many people who lost family members due to this UNamerican american's radical teachings..

as long as you are not on the interent trying to recruit radical terrorist and planning the murders of innocent people..

i am fairly confident YOU will not have to be worried about a DRONE sending a missile at you while driving your car.. like this guy.. this was done so the rest of us can be safer

i live about 30 min away from where that sicko doctor at fort hood walked around shooting unarmed serviceman... it made my day just that much brighter to hear the news!!

The law of the U.S. Constitution is designed to protect the rights of Americans, even those accused of crimes, no matter how horrific. If there is enough evidence to prove a suspect is guilty, then it should be presented in a court of law. Even that "sicko doctor at fort hood" will be tried in a courtroom, not assassinated extra-judiciously.

[luckytxn 2,263]

I doubt that most can even realize the significance of this action.

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Republican presidential candidateRon Paul is condemning the Obama administration for killing an American born al-Qaida operative without a trial.

Paul, a Texas congressman known for libertarian views, says the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki on Yemeni soil amounts to an "assassination." Paul warned the American people not to casually accept such violence against U.S. citizens, even those with strong ties to terrorism.

Anwar al-Awlaki was considered one of the most influential al-Qaida operatives wanted by the United States. U.S. and Yemen officials say he was killed in a U.S. air strike targeting his convoy Friday morning.

Paul made the comments to reporters after a campaign stop Friday at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. He said America's leaders must think hard about "assassinating American citizens without charges."

[The_Dude 1,142]

Extra-judicial assassinations of U.S. citizens by their own government does not make me feel "relieved" at all - I find it very disturbing and it makes me feel very unsafe. Doesn't anybody care about the Constitution ? I guess it's just a piece of paper...

Do you really think that this man could have been apprehended and arrested to stand trial? I think he should have stood trial for his crimes. But I think it's very naive to think that he could be detained, alive to stand trial.

Edited September 30, 2011 by The_Dude

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

he was in YEMEN.. its kind of hard for our laws to work over there.. just like YEMEN laws won't really work here

ps.. i am not trying to change your opinion.. you are in US of America.. and you have the RIGHT to FREE SPEECH.. but listening to other opinions is good and can be enlighting, at times.

Why would you think that I have not read the opinions to which I am responding?

Do you really think that this man could have been apprehended and arrested to stand trial?

Was there any attempt made to do so ?