Another major victory on the anti-terrorism front: it has been confirmed that American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed in Yemen and, CNN reports, this is now confirmed by American officials. He was pitchforked into the headlines this year in a major story when it was revealed that he exchanged emails with accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hassan:
American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the public face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has been killed in Yemen, the nation’s Defense Ministry said Friday.
The U.S. regards al-Awlaki, who was believed to be hiding in Yemen, as the biggest threat to its homeland security. Western intelligence officials believe al-Awlaki is a senior leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the most active al Qaeda affiliates.
Al-Awlaki was killed about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Yemeni town of Khashef, east of the capital city of Sanaa, Mohammed Basha, a Yemen Embassy spokesman in Washington D.C., told CNN. Basha said the operation was launched at about 9:55 a.m. local time, though he did not say what type of operation was conducted or how al-Awlaki was killed.
A senior U.S. administration official confirmed al-Awlaki was dead, though no details surrounding the operation that led to the cleric’s death were released. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to CNN. The official was not authorized to release the information.Born in New Mexico, al-Awlaki preached at a mosque in Virginia before leaving the United States for the Middle East.
U.S. officials say al-Awlaki helped recruit Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic flight as it landed in Detroit on December 25, 2009.
The militant cleric is also said to have exchanged emails with accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hassan who killed a dozen fellow soldiers and a civilian in a rampage at the Texas base.
Throughout the years there have been reports that would come out trumpeting the deaths of major terrorist figures, but some turned out not to be confirmed and later proved not to be accurate. This one has been confirmed which makes it far more trustworthy. Most likely details are not being revealed because the operation is over or details might reveal too much about how this was done and interfere with success in future targets.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.