Muhammad ud-Deen
The U.S.-born militant cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, is calling for the death of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and is vowing to increase attacks against the U.S. In a new video message, Awlaki praised the Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at the Texas army base in November. “Nidal was my student… I’m proud of Nidal Hasan and this was a heroic act,” said the cleric. “If the situation remains we will see new Nidal Hasans appearing…These American soldiers on their way to Afghanistan and Iraq, we will kill them.” In April, President Barack Obama’s administration gave the authorization to capture or kill Awlaki, whose family is well known in Yemen. The Middle East country, though, has maintained it will not hand over the cleric, but instead put him on trial if arrested.