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ADEN: A son of US-born al Qaeda cleric Anwar Al-Awlaqi was among seven suspected jihadist militants killed in a trio of apparent US air strikes in Yemen, a member of his tribe said on Saturday.
“Abderrahman Anwar al-Awlaqi was killed in the raid,” the tribal source told AFP, adding that he had received confirmation from the militant-controlled Yemeni hospital where the dead and wounded from Friday evening's strikes were taken.
Awlaqi himself was killed in a US drone stike on September 30, which US President Barack Obama hailed as a “major blow” to al Qaeda worldwide.
US intelligence officials believe Awlaqi was linked to a US army major charged with shooting dead 13 people in Fort Hood, Texas, and to a Nigerian student accused of trying to blow up a US airliner on December 25, 2009.
He was also believed to be the leader of external operations of al Qaeda in the Arabian Pensinsula.
