Anwar Al-Awlaki's son killed in drone attack in Yemen: Report

Shabwa (Yemen), Oct 15(ANI): The son of slain al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Anwar Al-Awlaki was among those killed in a trio of drone attacks in southern Yemen on Friday night, a US news channel has reported, attributing to a security official.

The drone attacks, carried out in the Shabwa district, killed seven suspected militants, the Defense Ministry said, but did not confirm that Abdul Rahman Anwar Awlaki was among them.

The younger Awlaki had been hiding in the mountains of Shabwa for over eight months, the CNN quoted the senior security official in Shabwa, who did not want to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, as saying.

He had first-hand knowledge of the death, he said.

The Awlaki family did not want to comment on the matter, the report said.

On September 30, a US drone strike had killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born miltant cleric who was a key leader of the AQAP terrorist group.

US President Barack Obama had hailed that death as a "major blow" for the terror group.

Friday night's attack also killed Ibrahim al-Banna, the head media officer for AQAP, the Yemeni Defense Ministry said. (ANI)