Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian who tried to detonate his underpants in a flight over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, pled guilty to all charges and called the bomb a “blessed weapon.” Abdulmutallab admittedly worked for al Qaeda, and had been instructed by Anwar al-Awlaki to set off the bomb over US airspace to maximize […]
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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula confirmed that Anwar al Awlaki and Samir Khan were killed in a Predator airstrike in southern Yemen late last month. AQAP assailed the US for violating its own laws and principles by assassinating the two US citizens.
In a statement released online, AQAP has confirmed that Anwar al Awlaki was killed in a US airstrike late last month. AQAP references the debate in the US over the legality of killing Awlaki, who was an American citizen.
Anwar al Awlaki sheltered in the homes of three senior Islah Party members in southern Yemen before he was killed in a US Predator airstrike. One of the homes is owned by Abdul Majeed al Zindani.
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One of the homes belongs to Abdul Majeed al Zindani, who is wanted by the US for serving as Osama bin Laden’s spiritual leader and legal adviser.
US Predators killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in Abyan province. The parents of AQAP propagandist Samir Khan are “appalled” the US killed their son, and described him as a “law-abiding” US citizen.
The US is known to have carried out nine airstrikes in Yemen this year. The campaign is focusing on AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the failed underwear bomber, shouted “Anwar is alive,” referring to his mentor, Anwar al Awlaki.
Unnamed members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and tribal officials have claimed that Anwar al Awlaki was not killed in the Sept. 30 Predator strike in Al Jawf. The AQAP members claimed that proof would soon be released.
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A Yemeni official told The Long War Journal that Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri is alive, but named two other al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters killed in the strike.
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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri is also thought to have been killed in yesterday’s Predator strike that killed Anwar al Awlaki and Samir Khan. AQAP has yet to confirmed that Asiri, Awlaki, and Khan have been killed.
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US and Yemeni officials said that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders Anwar al Awlaki and Samir Khan, both US citizens, were killed in a Predator strike in Al Jawf province. Five other AQAP operatives are also said to have been killed.
“We consider him as a martyr and we ask mercy,” the jihadist stated about Awlaki in a post on an al Qaeda-linked forum.
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