Yemen al-Qaida wing confirms death of al-Awlaki, threatens more attacks

ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- A leading member of the Yemen- based al-Qaida wing confirmed to Xinhua Saturday that the U.S.- born cleric and one of the group's top leaders, Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed in a U.S. drone strike outside the town of Khashef in Yemen's northeastern mountainous province of Jawf.

The terrorist group member said on condition of anonymity that al-Qaida militants lost contacts with al-Awlaki since Friday dawn after receiving information from their counterparts in Jawf and Marib provinces, some 140 km east of the capital Sanaa, that Awlaki's convoy was pounded in a U.S. drone raid.

Anwar al-Awlaki speaks in a video message

The U.S.-born radical cleric had been hiding in the southern Abyan province over a week ago and was forced to leave Abyan after he survived several missile attacks against his motorcade, he added.

Al-Awlaki began as a mosque preacher as he conducted his university studies in the United States, and he returned to Yemen in 2004. Branded as a major recruiter for al-Qaida, Awlaki was suspected by the U.S. authorities to have provided spiritual guidance to attackers who carried out Fort Hood shooting in  November 2009 and the underwear bomb attempt on a U.S. airliner the following month.

Yemen's Defense Ministry and U.S intelligence officials said Friday that al-Awlaki along with a number of his supporters were killed in an air raid.

Meanwhile, militants of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP) claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on the Yemeni security and military intelligence offices in various southern and eastern territories, which killed and injured dozens of government troops during the past three months, according to a statement distributed among local residents in Abyan, one of AQAP's key strongholds.

The statement obtained by Xinhua threatened to carry out more attacks against targets in Yemen.

The Yemeni army forces have been fighting for more than three months against AQAP militants, who apparently took advantage of the country's political crisis to expand their military presence and seize control over the lawless southern and eastern part of Yemen.