Washington, D.C, Sept. 30, 2011—Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric and alleged terror suspect accused of being a “key leader” for al Qaeda operations in Yemen, has been killed, confirmed a senior Yemeni administration official early Friday morning.

According to the Associated Press, the strike was directed by the CIA and carried out with the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command’s (JSOC) military assets. Although the U.S government has not officially confirmed the strike, Yemeni security officials reported that the operation targeted an Al Qaeda convoy east of the country’s capital. Samir Khan, another American with links to al Qaeda, was killed along with al-Awlaki in the airstrike.

On Wednesday, September 28th, in a column that chillingly forewarned of U.S plans to assassinate al-Awlaki, Independent Institute Senior Fellow Ivan Eland predicted that the American government would politicize al-Awlaki’s case, meaning that “hysteria reigns at the expense of any constitutional due process.”

In his article, Eland urgently cautioned against such violations of an American citizen’s legal guarantees.

Although al-Awlaki may be part of the group al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula... it has not been alleged by Obama administration officials that he planned, authorized, committed, or in any way assisted the 9/11 attacks or harbored those who perpetrated them.

...Killing him is not authorized by the congressional resolution.

[Anwar al-Awlaki]’s case merely highlights the fact that the administration has secret criteria for putting people, including U.S. citizens, on a hit list. Thus, al-Awlaki won’t even have been informed of how he ran afoul of the U.S. government before he gets whacked.

For more on this issue, read Ivan Eland’s full article at the Independent Institute. He is available for interviews, including over the weekend. For interviews, please contact Lindsay Boyd at 202-725-7722 or [email protected].

# # #