Pentagon officials said an unmanned aircraft bombed a remote compound Thursday, targeting the U.S.-born al-Awlaki, The New York Times reported Saturday.
There were casualties, but al-Awlaki was not among them, unidentified military officials told the Times. Since locating and killing bin Laden in Pakistan Sunday, the U.S. intelligence community's concern has been to identify the apparent heir to the leadership of the Muslim terrorist group.
The Times said al-Awlaki is considered a threat because he was born in the United States and his fluency in English. He is considered to be instrumental in recruiting al-Qaida guerrillas in Western countries.