Obama hails killing of N.M.-born cleric

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama declared the killing of a fiery American-born cleric a "major blow" to al-Qaida's most active affiliate, and vowed a vigorous U.S. campaign to prevent the terror network and its partners from finding safe haven anywhere in the world.

Anwar Al-Awlaki, and a second American, Samir Khan, were killed by a joint CIA-U.S. air strike on their convoy in Yemen early Friday. Both men played key roles in inspiring attacks against the U.S., and their killings are a devastating double blow to al-Qaida's most dangerous franchise.

Seeking to justify the targeted killing of a U.S. citizen, Obama outlined al-Alwaki's involvement in planning and directing the murder of innocent Americans.

"He directed the failed attempt to blow up an airplane on Christmas Day in 2009. He directed the failed attempt to blow up U.S. cargo planes in 2010," Obama said. "And he repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda."

After three weeks of tracking the targets, U.S. armed drones and fighter jets shadowed al-Alwaki's convoy before armed drones launched their lethal strike early Friday. The strike killed four operatives in all, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

Al-Awlaki was targeted in the killing, but Khan, who edited the slick Jihadi Internet magazine, apparently was not targeted directly.

Al-Awlaki played a "significant operational role" in plotting and inspiring attacks on the United States, U.S. officials said Friday. Khan, who was from North Carolina, wasn't considered an operational leader but had published seven issues online of Inspire Magazine, a widely read Jihadi site offering advice on how to make bombs and the use of weapons.

Al-Awlaki was born in Las Cruces in April 1971 while his father was a graduate student at New Mexico State University. The family moved to Yemen in 1978.

His son was back in the U.S. in 1991 to study civil engineering at Colorado State University, then education studies at San Diego State University and later doctoral work at George Washington University in Washington.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is condemning the Obama administration for killing the American born al-Qaida operative without a trial.

Paul, a Texas congressman known for libertarian views, says the killing of al-Awlaki on Yemeni soil amounts to an "assassination." Paul warned the American people not to casually accept such violence against U.S. citizens, even those with strong ties to terrorism.

Paul made the comments to reporters after a campaign stop Friday at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. He said America's leaders must think hard about "assassinating American citizens without charges."

U.S. officials say the same military unit that got Osama bin Laden used a drone and jet strike today to kill al-Awlaki.

One U.S. official says al-Awlaki had been under observation for three weeks while the military waited for the right opportunity to strike.

Officials say he was killed in a strike on his convoy carried out by a joint operation of the CIA and the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command. They say the CIA provided the intelligence and the military provided the firepower.