Al-Awlaki’s son among dead in U.S. airstrike in Yemen

Tribal elders say the son of slain U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed in a U.S. missile strike along with six other al-Qaeda militants, including the media chief of the terror group’s Yemeni branch.

The elders in the south-eastern province of Shabwa where the strike took place identified the son as 21-year-old Abdul-Rahman al-Awlaki. There was no official confirmation of his death from Yemeni authorities.

The elders, who spoke on Saturday on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals, had earlier said that five of al-Awlaki’s clan were among the seven people killed in the missile attack.

The older al-Awlaki, a gifted Muslim preacher and savvy Internet operator who became a powerful al-Qaeda recruiting tool, was killed on Sept. 30, also in a U.S. drone attack.