Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Anwar al-Awlaki, and Samir Khan

According to government reports and news sources from around the world, the well-known American-born radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen on Friday, September 30, 2011, along with American jihadi propagandist Samir Khan. This report is designed to provide background on al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the organization al-Awlaki headed, and the influence he and Khan had on global terrorism. The report includes information on:

• Terrorist activity by al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula and al-Qa'ida in Yemen;
• Terrorism by the larger al-Qa'ida network;
• Anwar al-Awlaki's involvement with terrorists targeting the United States; and
• al-Awlaki's rise as an English-language jihadi propagandist.