Anwar al-Awlaki, the New Mexico-born cleric who became the public face of anti-US hatred, was killed in a stunning strike that President Obama said proved there is no place in the world for violent terrorists to hide.
Awlaki was blown to pieces along with at least three close aides — including one who grew up in Queens — as he tried to escape in a Toyota pickup truck in lawless eastern Yemen.
His slaying came as:
* Officials disclosed that the drone missiles that killed Awlaki were operated by the same Joint Special Operations Command that took out Osama bin Laden.
* The Virginia mosque where Awlaki once preached decried his hateful message — but questioned whether he had to die.
* A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said it was “at a heightened state of vigilance” to prevent any retaliatory plots — including in New York City.
Awlaki — wanted for a string of sinister plots, including the Times Square car bombing, underwear-bomb attempt and Fort Hood massacre — had been the only American ever marked for death on a secret CIA list.
He had survived at least three previous assassination attempts — and laughed over the US failures — before the Hellfire missile from an unmanned drone aircraft caught him after breakfast yesterday.
“This is further proof that al Qaeda and its affiliates will have no safe haven anywhere in the world,” Obama said.
Awlaki, who once preached in US mosques to three of the 9/11 hijackers, had been hunted for years by the CIA in Yemen, the festering breeding grounds for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group he served as “chief of external operations.”
Three weeks ago, Yemeni intelligence pinpointed his latest hideout in the town of Khashef, east of the capital, Sana‘a.
“He was closely monitored ever since” by Yemeni intelligence on the ground, backed by US satellite and drones from the sky, a Yemeni official said.
The final act came just before 10 a.m. yesterday. A tribal official told The Washington Post that Awlaki had just eaten breakfast and that his lieutenants had left their house for their cars located about 700 yards away.
Suddenly, they heard a Predator flying overhead that fired a 100-pound Hellfire missile. It killed some of Awlaki’s party.
Awlaki raced to a Toyota Hilux pickup.
That’s when a second Hellfire from a second drone exploded, tearing his body to pieces, according to Khamis bin Arfaaj, whose brother Salem had been living with Awlaki and also died.
Also killed was Samir Khan, 25, who was born in Saudi Arabia but raised in Maspeth, Queens. He moved to Charlotte, NC, but left two years ago for Yemen, where he eventually became publisher of al Qaeda’s notorious magazine, Inspire.
And early today, officials said al Qaeda’s top bomb-maker in Yemen, Ibrahim al-Asiri — linked to the failed 2009 underwear bomber aboard a Detroit-bound jet — also was killed. Authorities also believe al-Asiri built the bombs that al Qaeda slipped into printers and shipped to the US last year in a nearly catastrophic attack.
There was no immediate explanation of how US officials confirmed Awlaki’s death.
Nevertheless, US officials were confident they had finally gotten their man, their biggest prize since the slaying of Osama bin Laden in May.
“This was a terrorist who wasn’t simply a propagandist, but over the years had become an operational figure who was increasingly focused on planning and carrying out attacks against the United States and our allies,” a senior defense official said. “A very bad man just had a very bad day.”
Officials said the operation was carried out by the CIA at a new base in Yemen and that the drone strike was the first in the country since 2002. It was carried out in coordination with the US military under the Joint Special Operations Command, which was also credited with killing bin Laden.
Also in May, a US drone strike missed Awlaki but killed two of his associates. He joked about it in Inspire magazine.
“It looks as if someone was a bit angry with us this evening,” Awlaki was quoted as saying in the July issue.
The article said the United States had “sent a dozen missile strikes” at him but “by the grace of Allah … he left the area without a scratch.”
Awlaki’s death was felt around the world, including in New York, one of his targets.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, “We know al-Awlaki had followers in the United States, including New York City, and for that reason we remain alert to the possibility that someone might want to avenge his death.”
He noted that Khan “had extensive contacts in New York City” and the most recent issue of Inspire identified Grand Central Terminal as a target.
Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican presidential candidate, said the slaying was unjustified because — unlike bin Laden — Awlaki faced no US criminal charges.
The Washington Post, citing unnamed administration officials, reported last night the Justice Department wrote a secret memorandum authorizing the strike.
Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Awlaki had been on a secret roster of terrorists the White House has authorized the CIA and Pentagon to kill or capture.
Awlaki was the first American on the list — added in April 2010 — which stems from an order President George W. Bush made six days after 9/11.