U.S. drone in Yemen missed al Qaeda's al-Awlaki: report

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_yemen_drone_awlaki

U.S. drone in Yemen missed al Qaeda's al-Awlaki: report

2 hrs 1 min ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. drone aircraft attack that killed two midlevel

al Qaeda militants in Yemen on Thursday was targeting the leader of al Qaeda in

the Arabian Peninsula, a U.S.-born radical known for encouraging attacks on the

United States, U.S. media reported.

CBS News and The Wall Street Journal, citing Yemeni and U.S. officials, said on

Friday that Anwar al-Awlaki was not hit when a missile was fired at a car in

southern Yemen on Thursday, killing two brothers believed to be al Qaeda

militants.

" We were hoping it was him, " a U.S. official told CBS News.

The U.S. Defense Department declined to comment on the reports.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, is estimated to number about 300

fighters with strongholds in remote mountain regions in the provinces of Shabwa,

Abyan, Jouf and Marib. It is thought to be behind numerous attacks on government

targets.

The group is said to have inspired attacks by Muslims inside the United States

-- including the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings in which an Army psychiatrist is

accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 -- and twice smuggled explosives

aboard aircraft headed to the United States.

Yemen's Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday's drone attack had killed two al

Qaeda militants, identifying them as brothers Musa'id and Abdullah Mubarak

al-Daghari.

Washington considers the Yemen-based al Qaeda branch the world's most active

terror cell.

With the killing in Pakistan earlier this week of al Qaeda leader Osama bin

Laden, some officials believe Awlaki's group now represents the gravest danger

to the United States and other Western nations.

(Writing by Todd Eastham; Editing by Cooney and Walsh)