Radical US-Yemeni cleric has Al-Qaeda ties, say prosecutors

Prosecutors in Yemen have charged radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi in absentia for killing foreigners in Yemen. He and a relative were charged Tuesday on information that came out during the trial of another man accused of killing a Frenchman near Sanaa last month.

Reuters/Khaled Abdullah

Hisham Mohammed Assem appeared in court Tuesday, facing charges of killing French energy contractor Jacques Spagnolo near Sanaa on 6 October.

Prosecutors said Assem had corresponded with al-Awlaqi, who had encouraged him to kill foreigners.

Al-Awlaqi, who holds both Yemeni and US citizenship, and his relative, Othman al-Awlaqi were charged Tuesday.

All three men are accused of "forming an armed gang to carry out criminal acts and to target foreigners and security forces on behalf of Al-Qaeda".

Assem denied the charges against him and asked for a lawyer, telling the court he was tortured. His trial was adjourned until Saturday.

Al-Awlaqi is wanted in the US on terrorism charges. Officials have linked him to a shooting rampage last November at a US army base, and to the Christmas Day attempted bomber of a US airliner. He is believed to be hiding in a remote area controlled by his tribe.

Al-Awlaqi has not, however, been linked to parcel bombs sent to the US, which officials believe is the work of Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, a Saudi suspected of being an Al-Qaeda bomb maker.