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US operation kills top Al Qaeda leader in Yemen
In a devastating double blow to Al Qaeda’s most dangerous franchise, US counterterrorism forces killed two American citizens who played major roles in inspiring attacks against the United States, US and Yemeni officials said on Friday.
US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, who edited a slick Jihadi internet magazine, were killed in an air strike on their convoy in Yemen by a joint CIA-US military operation, according to counterterrorism officials. Al-Awlaki was targeted in the killing; Khan apparently was not targeted directly. After three weeks of tracking the targets, US armed drones and fighter jets shadowed the Al Qaeda convoy, before armed drones launched the lethal strike early Friday. The strike killed four operatives in all, officials said. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
Al-Awlaki played a “significant operational role” in plotting and inspiring attacks on the United States, US officials said on Friday, as they disclosed detailed intelligence to justify the killing of a US citizen. Khan, who was from North Carolina, wasn’t considered operational, but had published seven issues of Inspire Magazine offering advice on how to make bombs and the use of weapons. The magazine was widely read.
Following the strike, a US official outlined new details of al-Awlaki’s involvement in anti-US operation, including the attempted bombing of a US-bound aircraft on December 25, 2009.
The official said al-Awlaki also specifically directed the men accused of trying to bomb a US-bound plane to detonate an explosive device over Detroit to maximise casualties. Neither attempt succeeded US officials also believe al-Awlaki had sought to use poisons, including cyanide and ricin, to attack Westerners.
The US and counterterrorism officials all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
Al-Awlaki was killed by the same US military unit that got Osama bin Laden. A US official said four individuals were killed in the attack.
Al-Awlaki is the most prominent Al Qaeda figure to be killed since bin Laden’s death in May.
Al-Awlaki was a US citizen, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, who had not been charged with any crime. Civil liberties groups have questioned the government’s authority to kill an American without trial. US officials have said they believe al-Awlaki inspired the actions of Army psychiatrist Maj Nidal Hasan, who is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the attack at Fort Hood, Texas.
In New York, the Pakistani-American man who pleaded guilty to the May 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt said he was “inspired” by al-Awlaki after making contact over the Internet.
Al-Awlaki also is believed to have had a hand in mail bombs addressed to Chicago-area synagogues, packages intercepted in Dubai and Europe in October 2010.
US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, who edited a slick Jihadi internet magazine, were killed in an air strike on their convoy in Yemen by a joint CIA-US military operation, according to counterterrorism officials. Al-Awlaki was targeted in the killing; Khan apparently was not targeted directly. After three weeks of tracking the targets, US armed drones and fighter jets shadowed the Al Qaeda convoy, before armed drones launched the lethal strike early Friday. The strike killed four operatives in all, officials said. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
Al-Awlaki played a “significant operational role” in plotting and inspiring attacks on the United States, US officials said on Friday, as they disclosed detailed intelligence to justify the killing of a US citizen. Khan, who was from North Carolina, wasn’t considered operational, but had published seven issues of Inspire Magazine offering advice on how to make bombs and the use of weapons. The magazine was widely read.
Following the strike, a US official outlined new details of al-Awlaki’s involvement in anti-US operation, including the attempted bombing of a US-bound aircraft on December 25, 2009.
The official said al-Awlaki also specifically directed the men accused of trying to bomb a US-bound plane to detonate an explosive device over Detroit to maximise casualties. Neither attempt succeeded US officials also believe al-Awlaki had sought to use poisons, including cyanide and ricin, to attack Westerners.
The US and counterterrorism officials all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
Al-Awlaki was killed by the same US military unit that got Osama bin Laden. A US official said four individuals were killed in the attack.
Al-Awlaki is the most prominent Al Qaeda figure to be killed since bin Laden’s death in May.
Al-Awlaki was a US citizen, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, who had not been charged with any crime. Civil liberties groups have questioned the government’s authority to kill an American without trial. US officials have said they believe al-Awlaki inspired the actions of Army psychiatrist Maj Nidal Hasan, who is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the attack at Fort Hood, Texas.
In New York, the Pakistani-American man who pleaded guilty to the May 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt said he was “inspired” by al-Awlaki after making contact over the Internet.
Al-Awlaki also is believed to have had a hand in mail bombs addressed to Chicago-area synagogues, packages intercepted in Dubai and Europe in October 2010.
