American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki — whose fluency in English and technology made him one of the top terrorist recruiters in the world — was killed Friday in an airstrike in Yemen, officials said.
Al-Awlaki’s death, confirmed by U.S. and Yemeni officials, dealt yet another blow to the al Qaeda network, reeling from the killing and capture this year of several top leaders, most notably Osama bin Laden.
A “successful joint intelligence-sharing operation” between Yemen and the United States led to the attack that killed al-Awlaki, a Yemeni government official said Friday. The official asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the news media.
The United States regarded al-Awlaki, the public face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as a terrorist who posed a major threat to American homeland security. Western intelligence officials believe al-Awlaki was a senior leader of AQAP, one of the most active al Qaeda affiliates in the world. It has been linked to the attempt to blow up an airliner over Detroit in December 2009 and a cargo plane plot last year.
“Anwar al-Awlaki didn’t need subtitles to indoctrinate,” said Sajjan Gohel of the Asia Pacific Foundation, who called al-Awlaki’s death significant. “He spoke English, he understood how to impact the Muslim diaspora in the West.”
