WASHINGTON (AP) _ White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says the U.S. is actively hunting American-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
The radical cleric is calling for the killing of American civilians, in a new video released Sunday by Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot, al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula.
The White House spokesman says President Barack Obama will continue to take action directly against terrorists like al-Awlaki, and keep the U.S. safe from what Gibbs calls “murderous thugs.”
Senior administration officials say al-Awlaki is on a list of terrorists U.S. forces are authorized to capture, or kill. His Internet sermons are believed to have helped inspire attacks on the U.S.
He has been tied to the 9/11 hijackers and the suspects in the November shooting at an Army base in Fort Hood, Texas.
Gibbs appeared Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”