AQAP Leader Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen

3 Comments

1. 

   Oui on September 30, 2011 at 1:55 pm

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   Anwar al-Awlaki made an abrupt change from preaching the Muslim faith to his followers to advocating attacks on the US and it’s citizens. He’s accused of being an operations officer leading AQAP in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. The al-Awlaki clan has suffered great losses by earlier drone attacks killing 120 Yemeni.

   His mix of scripture and vitriol has helped lure young Muslims into a dozen plots. He cheered on the Fort Hood gunman and had a role in prompting the attempted airliner bombing on Dec. 25, intelligence officials say. And last week, Faisal Shahzad, who is charged in the attempted bombing in Times Square, told investigators that Mr. Awlaki’s prolific online lectures urging jihad as a religious duty helped inspire him to act.

   Somali terror suspect captured in Gulf ‘linked to Anwar al-Awlaki’

   (Telegraph) July 6, 2011 – Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, who was captured in the Gulf by the US military on April 19 and is now facing terror charges, had contacts with Awlaki and “was a key interlocutor” between Somalia’s Shabaab Islamist insurgency and Awlaki’s Al-Qaeda outfit in Yemen, the official said.

   “He was a senior commander” in Shabaab, said the official.

   The Somali national was indicted in a New York court on charges of providing material support to both Shabaab and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, (AQAP).

   Warsame, 25, faces nine counts including acting as a go-between between the two groups, providing them with both money and training between 2007 and 2011. He faces a life sentence if convicted on the terror and weapons charges.

   June 2011 – Al Qa’ida leader killed in Mogadishu

   • The Anwar Awlaki Timeline

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

2. 

   Oui on September 30, 2011 at 2:06 pm

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   Killed in same drone attack, editor of Jihad magazine Inspire.

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

3. 

   Oui on September 30, 2011 at 3:47 pm

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   U.S.-born Islamist militant killed in Yemen in a CIA drone strike

   DANAA (Reuters) – “Awlaki will be difficult to replace,” said Jeremy Binnie, a terrorism and insurgency analyst at IHS Jane ‘s in London. “It’s a blow for AQAP’s international operations. Awlaki has helped the group build its international profile.”

   U.S. authorities have branded Awlaki a “global terrorist” and last year authorized his capture or killing, but Sanaa had previously appeared reluctant to act against him.

   Awlaki was not a senior Islamic cleric, nor a commander of AQAP, which is led by a Yemeni named Nasser al-Wuhayshi, but he played a key role in the group’s global outreach.

   “Awlaki’s death won’t hurt al Qaeda’s operations because he didn’t have a leadership role. But the organization has lost an important figure for recruiting people from afar,” said Said Obeid, a Yemeni analyst on al Qaeda.

   Henry Wilkinson, head analyst at risk consultancy Janusian in London, said Awlaki’s demise would have little impact on AQAP’s local operations, but added: “He was a rare talent who could reach out and recruit and mobilize. If the U.S. have killed Awlaki, then they have achieved a major target.”

   AQAP chief Nasir al Wuhayshi reported killed in southern Yemen

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."