US Strike Kills Awlaki’s Son Along With 9 Others

The son of the recently assassinated US citizen Anwar al Awlaki was among nine suspected jihadist militants killed by apparent US air strikes in Yemen.

Abderrahman Anwar al Awlaki was killed and taken with the others to the militant-controlled Yemeni hospital where the dead and wounded from the strikes were taken. The strikes hit a mosque in Shabwa province east of the main southern city of Aden and were likely launched from the Obama administration’s new base constructed specifically for such purposes.

The Yemeni defense ministry confirmed the deaths, but insisted that Friday evening’s strikes were carried out by its own forces, a predictable line given the Yemeni regime’s client state status and President Saleh’s previous promises to lie by claiming responsibility for US air strikes.

The murder of Awlaki ran into controversy because it wasn’t clearwhether he had committed a crime, since the US government refused to give any evidence or bring him to trial. It is even less clear whether the murder of his son – only 21 years old and previously unnamed as a suspect in anything – was a legitimate target.

Author: John Glaser

John Glaser writes for Antiwar.com.