US-born al Qaeda leader killed in Yemen

American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a leading figure in al Qaeda, was killed in Yemen Friday morning, according to reports.

American forces, using predator drones, were responsible for his death, NBC News reported.

{mosads}After the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said two of his top goals were to remove Ayman al-Zawahiri, the new head of the terrorist organization, and Awlaki.

The Obama administration authorized Awlaki’s killing in April 2010. His death is one of the most significant victories in the war against al Qaeda since bin Laden’s.

Awlaki, a New Mexico-born cleric, has been implicated in several attacks on U.S. soil, reports note, including the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009; an attempt later that year to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner; and a 2010 attempt to send parcel bombs on cargo plans bound for the United States.

He left the United States in 2002. His lectures in English on Islamic scripture drew countless followers on the Internet, including Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged in the Fort Hood shootings. Faisal Shahzad, who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square last year, cited Awlaki as an inspiration.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, praised Awlaki’s killing.

“For the past several years, al-Awlaki has been more dangerous even than Osama bin Laden had been. The killing of al-Awlaki is a tremendous tribute to President Obama and the men and women of our intelligence community,” he said in a statement.

House intelligence committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) noted that in the past few months “serious damage has been inflicted on al Qaeda’s leadership.”

“Another very dangerous terrorist has been eliminated today, but there is still work to be done. We must continue to aggressively pursue al Qaeda in Yemen and wherever we find them around the world.  We must not relent in our efforts to defeat this terrorist network,” he said in a statement.

—This story was last updated at 10:56 a.m.