Anwar Al-awlaki | featured news

Al-Qaeda's Yemeni offshoot confirmed the killing of U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki late last month.

Most Americans applauded the Sept. 30 strike that killed U.S.-born al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, but some analysts continue to question the legal reasoning behind an attack on someone who, after all, was an American citizen. There are also questions about the special, secret panel that authorizes kill operations against any terrorist.

Terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab defiantly shouted during the start of jury selection today in federal court that his alleged mentor, U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, is "alive." He also railed against the United States — saying the United States is a cancer — and complained about his clothes, adding high drama to the most high-profile terror case in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

U.S. officials are warning the killing of American-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, could spark retaliatory attacks, according to a bulletin obtained by CNN.

A British official pressed for the removal of videos featuring calls to jihad by Anwar al-Awlaki, and a New York legislator, Anthony Weiner, sent YouTube a letter.

The Obama administration on Saturday invoked the state secrets privilege which would kill a lawsuit on behalf of U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an alleged terrorist said to be targeted for death or capture under a U.S. government program.