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Radical American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki killed
Officials: Radical American imam killed in Yemen - World news - Mideast/N. Africa - msnbc.com
SANAA, Yemen An American radical cleric linked to al-Qaida who led an organization labeled as one of the most serious threats to U.S. security has been killed in Yemen, the country's defense ministry said on Friday.
"The terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed along with some of his companions," the defense ministry said in a statement sent by text message to journalists, Reuters reported.
A Yemeni security official told Reuters that al-Awlaki, who is of Yemeni descent, was hit in a Friday 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.
While the American government did not immediately officially verify the claim, NBC News' Chuck Todd reported that a senior official had confirmed to him that al-Awlaki had been killed.
NBC News' Richard Engel reported in a message on Twitter that a Yemen source said al-Awlaki was killed by U.S. planes. An American drone aircraft targeted but missed him in May.
Story: Plenty of al-Qaida targets remain after Osama bin Laden's death
U.S. Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, hailed al-Awlaki's death as "a great success in our fight" against al-Qaida and its affiliates, in a statement sent to NBC News.
"For the past several years, al-Awlaki has been more dangerous even than Osama bin Laden had been. The killing of al-Awlaki is a tremendous tribute to President Obama and the men and women of our intelligence community," he added.
'We must remain vigilant'
However King, a Republican, warned that "we must remain as vigilant as ever, knowing that there are more Islamic terrorists who will gladly step forward to backfill this dangerous killer."
New Mexico-born al-Awlaki had been implicated in the botched Christmas Day so-called underwear bombing attempt on a U.S.-bound plane in 2009.
U.S. authorities have branded him a "global terrorist" but Yemen had previously appeared reluctant to act against him.
Al-Awlaki was one of the top officials at Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which was also thought to have been behind the plot to send printer cartridges packed with explosives to the U.S.
AQAP usually confirms the deaths of its members or affiliates on Internet posts a few days after the attack.
Al-Awlaki was not the leader of AQAP that is Nasser al-Wuhayshi but he ranked as its most gifted English-language propagandist.
He preached at mosques in northern Virginia and San Diego attended by three of the Sept. 11 hijackers in the 18 months before the attacks.
In 2010, U.S. officials designated him an individual who had committed or was likely to commit a terrorist act and froze his assets.
U.S. officials believe he built a substantial following in the United States and other Western nations through English-language postings on the Internet.
One of the biggest concerns about al-Awlaki has been his success in attracting and inspiring disaffected young Muslims, some of them converts to Islam.
Story: Judge sets 2012 trial date in Fort Hood shooting case
Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army psychiatrist who is charged with killing 12 people in a shooting spree at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009, was an admirer and emailed the preacher. The extent to which al-Awlaki responded is unclear.
Officials: Radical American imam killed in Yemen - World news - Mideast/N. Africa - msnbc.com
SANAA, Yemen An American radical cleric linked to al-Qaida who led an organization labeled as one of the most serious threats to U.S. security has been killed in Yemen, the country's defense ministry said on Friday.
"The terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed along with some of his companions," the defense ministry said in a statement sent by text message to journalists, Reuters reported.
A Yemeni security official told Reuters that al-Awlaki, who is of Yemeni descent, was hit in a Friday 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.
While the American government did not immediately officially verify the claim, NBC News' Chuck Todd reported that a senior official had confirmed to him that al-Awlaki had been killed.
NBC News' Richard Engel reported in a message on Twitter that a Yemen source said al-Awlaki was killed by U.S. planes. An American drone aircraft targeted but missed him in May.
Story: Plenty of al-Qaida targets remain after Osama bin Laden's death
U.S. Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, hailed al-Awlaki's death as "a great success in our fight" against al-Qaida and its affiliates, in a statement sent to NBC News.
"For the past several years, al-Awlaki has been more dangerous even than Osama bin Laden had been. The killing of al-Awlaki is a tremendous tribute to President Obama and the men and women of our intelligence community," he added.
'We must remain vigilant'
However King, a Republican, warned that "we must remain as vigilant as ever, knowing that there are more Islamic terrorists who will gladly step forward to backfill this dangerous killer."
New Mexico-born al-Awlaki had been implicated in the botched Christmas Day so-called underwear bombing attempt on a U.S.-bound plane in 2009.
U.S. authorities have branded him a "global terrorist" but Yemen had previously appeared reluctant to act against him.
Al-Awlaki was one of the top officials at Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which was also thought to have been behind the plot to send printer cartridges packed with explosives to the U.S.
AQAP usually confirms the deaths of its members or affiliates on Internet posts a few days after the attack.
Al-Awlaki was not the leader of AQAP that is Nasser al-Wuhayshi but he ranked as its most gifted English-language propagandist.
He preached at mosques in northern Virginia and San Diego attended by three of the Sept. 11 hijackers in the 18 months before the attacks.
In 2010, U.S. officials designated him an individual who had committed or was likely to commit a terrorist act and froze his assets.
U.S. officials believe he built a substantial following in the United States and other Western nations through English-language postings on the Internet.
One of the biggest concerns about al-Awlaki has been his success in attracting and inspiring disaffected young Muslims, some of them converts to Islam.
Story: Judge sets 2012 trial date in Fort Hood shooting case
Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army psychiatrist who is charged with killing 12 people in a shooting spree at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009, was an admirer and emailed the preacher. The extent to which al-Awlaki responded is unclear.
