Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar Nasser al-Awlaki was a Yemeni-American imam and a supposed key ideological supporter of terrorism. According to U.S. government officials, as well as being a senior recruiter and motivator, he was centrally involved in planning terrorist operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, but have not released evidence that could support this statement. Al-Awlaki became the first U.S. citizen to be targeted and killed by a U.S. drone strike without the rights of due process being afforded. President Barack Obama ordered the strike which was effectively ordering the execution of a U.S. citizen without a trial. His son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, was killed in a U.S. drone strike two weeks later. On January 29, 2017, al-Awlaki's 8-year-old daughter, Nawar al-Awlaki, was killed in a U.S. commando attack in Yemen that was ordered by President Donald Trump. With a blog, a Facebook page, the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire, and many YouTube videos, al-Awlaki was described by Saudi news station Al Arabiya as the "bin Laden of the Internet". After a request from the U.S. Congress in November 2010, Google removed many of al-Awlaki's videos from YouTube. According to The New York Times, al-Awlaki's public statements and videos have been more influential in inspiring acts of terrorism in the wake of his killing than before his death.