The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, al Qaeda's best-known mouthpiece and most charismatic spiritual leader, will leave a huge hole that the global terrorist network may find impossible to fill, regional and counterterrorism experts say.
A Saudi militant believed killed in the U.S. drone strike in Yemen constructed the bombs for the al Qaeda branch's most notorious attempted attacks — including the underwear-borne explosives intended to a down a U.S. aircraft, and a bomb carried by his own brother intended to assassinate a Saudi prince.
Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for urgent medical care for burns and other wounds suffered in a rocket attack on his palace. The abrupt departure of a key U.S. ally in the war against terror threatened to deepen the crisis in his impoverished nation shaken by months of protests against his 33-year rule.
Yemen's al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula is offering chilling magazine tips to would-be militants on how to kill Americans.
Seldom visible in the Yemeni mountains, the elite U.S. commandos training the Yemen's military represent the Obama administration's quest to fight terrorism without inflaming anti-American sentiment.
U.S. special operations forces are expanding their training of the Yemeni military as the Obama administration broadens its program to counter terrorism in countries reluctant to harbor a visible American military presence.
