Western news organizations say the U.S. launched a drone strike in Yemen that targeted a radical U.S.-born cleric with al-Qaida links.
The news organizations on Friday quoted U.S. and Yemeni officials as saying Anwar al-Awlaki was the target of a Thursday strike in Yemen that killed two other suspected al-Qaida militants.
Authorities say Awlaki is a high-ranking member of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula terrorist group. He is wanted by the U.S. and Yemen for his suspected role in attacks that include the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner in 2009 and a deadly shooting spree at a U.S. military base in Texas the same year.
U.S. authorities believe Awlaki has been hiding in Yemen. The Yemeni government has pledged to help in tracking him down.
U.S. officials have not publicly commented on Thursday’s missile strike or reports that Awlaki was the target. Yemeni officials said brothers Abdullah and Mosaad Mubarak died in Shabwa province, but the officials did not elaborate on how the brothers were killed.
As Yemen battles al-Qaida elements, its government is also dealing with anti-government unrest.
On Friday, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told thousands of supporters that he will resist calls to immediately resign.
President Saleh described his opponents as “outlaws,” while tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered nearby in the capital, Sana’a.
The dueling rallies crowded the streets following Muslim prayers after a Gulf Arab plan to end Yemen’s political stalemate stalled in recent days.
The plan called for President Saleh to hand over power to a deputy and resign within 30 days of signing the initiative. It would have established a unity government that would have included opposition members.
Both the opposition and Mr. Saleh said last week that they agreed to the deal. But Mr. Saleh then said he would sign the deal only as leader of the ruling General People’s Congress party, but not in his capacity as president, as required by the plan.
Officials with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council are trying to revive the pact, but Saleh on Friday told a rally he would “strongly defend the constitution.”
At least 140 people have died in anti-government unrest since January.
