US air strike kills prominent al-Qaida figure in Yemen

ANWAR al-Awlaki, a US-born Islamic militant cleric who became a prominent figure in al-Qaida’s most active branch, using his fluent English and internet savvy to draw recruits to carry out attacks in the United States, was killed yesterday in the mountains of Yemen, US and Yemeni officials said.

The Yemeni government and defence ministry announced al-Awlaki’s death, but gave no details. A senior US official said American intelligence supported the claim he had been killed.

Yemeni security officials and local tribal leaders said he was killed in an airstrike on his convoy that they believed was carried out by the US. They said pilotless drones had been seen over the area in previous days.