Al Qaeda leader reported dead in Yemen

Anwar al Awlaki has been killed by an airstrike, announced the Yemen military today. Awlaki, who was a prominent member of Al Qaeda, has been behind failed attempts to blow up the American airplanes, reports Reuters.

There are few details on the attack on Awlaki, but Washington has been providing Yemen with both intelligence and predator drones to defeat Al Waeda operatives. According to Yemen media, reports the LA Times, Awlaki was hit during a targeted airstrikes on the northern Yemen region of Marib.

According to a US official in Washington, the Obama Adminsitration has confirmed Awlaki's death. US officials have confirmed that Awlaki, who was born in the United States, and has been linked to Al Qaeda's yemen based wing, was killed in a CIA drone strike.

Awlaki was branded as a global terrorist by the United States last year. He had been targeted by many US forces who were authorized to kill him because of the role they believed he played in radicalizing English-speaking Muslims as well as his assumed role in plots to attack the U.S. He is the first US citizen authorized by the White House to be killed by the CIA. This occurred after a botched attempt to blow up a US bound aircraft in December 2009.

According to Reuters, Awlaki was identified as "chief of external operations" for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is considered the most dangerous of the the militant group's branches.

Reports Reuters:
"He planned and directed attacks against the United States," one U.S. official said. "In addition, Awlaki publicly urged attacks against U.S. persons and interests worldwide and called for violence against Arab governments he judged to be working against al Qaeda."
Awlaki's death is another in a string of blows to al Qaeda. The militant network has been shaken up by the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May.

According to the LA Times, Awlaki's death will improve President Ali Abdullah Saleh's standing with the United States as an ally and will help him gain international support as Yemen edges closer to civil war.

US Representative Peter King (R-NY) has said that the United States must remain vigilant as "there are more Islamic terrorists who will gladly step forward to backfill this dangerous killer.""