Sunday, October 2, 2011

Tribal sources affirm that Awlaki was killed, Obama praises Yemen cooperation


Source: Yemen Observer
By Mohammed al-Kibsi
Newsyemen.net website quoted some tribesmen from al-Jawf province as saying that they had seen Anwar al-Awlaki few minutes before he was killed.
The tribesmen said that Awlaki’s motorcade included seven people among them was a person with Pakistani features, two Saudi nationals as well as two Yemeni citizens from Marib province among them was a person called Mohammed Hussien Ma’aj in addition to a person from Jawf province called Saleh Saleh Arfaj Marwani.
The same source said that the three missiles targeted Awlaki’s motorcade and that the jet fighters kept hovering after the airstrike.
They confirmed that al-Awlaki was killed along with his companions and that their supporters buried their scattered limbs immediately.
US President Barack Obama has saluted the existing bilateral cooperation between Yemen and the USA in counterterrorism sphere.

President Obama made the statement in an event held Friday to bid farewell to Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, hours after the death of US-born Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, was killed in a successful air strike in Jawf province, northern Yemen.

Obama stressed his administration's keenness to continue such cooperation with Yemen.

"The death of al-Awlaqi is a major blow to al-Qaeda's most active operational affiliate," US President said, considering al-Awlaqi's death as a tribute to the US intelligence community and to the efforts of Yemen and its security forces, who have worked closely with the USA over the course of several years.

"The death of al-Awlaqi marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat Al-Qaeda and its affiliates," Obama said.

Al-Awlaqi was killed due to the Yemeni government and people's decision to be partner with the international community in joint effort and goal, he said.

"Al-Awlaqi was the leader of external operations for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In that role, he took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans." Obama said.

He pointed that al-Awlaqi had directed the failed attempt to blow up an airplane on Christmas Day in 2009 and also directed the failed attempt to blow up US cargo planes in 2010.

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