"We confirm to the jihadi Ummah that is uprising against oppression, the martyrdom of the mujahid heroic sheikh Abu Abdul Rahman Anwar bin Nasser al-Awlaqi," SITE quoted an AQAP statement issued on jihadist forums as saying.
"His martyrdom was the result of a bombing by an American plan, he and his companions Abu Muhsin al-Marbi, Samir Khan, and Salim al-Marwani, may Allah have mercy on them, in an area between Marib and al-Jawf," it said.
Awlaqi was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in a raid hailed by US President Barack Obama as a "major blow" to the Al-Qaeda network.
AQAP vowed that it will exact revenge for the loss of Awlaqi, the statement said.
"There are heroes behind him who do not sleep under oppression, and they will retaliate soon, with permission from Allah.
"We and the American are at war: we get them and they get us, and the end is for those who are patient -- they are the ones who will be victorious."
US intelligence officials believed Awlaqi was linked to a US army major charged with shooting dead 13 people in Fort Hood, Texas, and to a Nigerian student accused of trying to blow up a US airliner on December 25, 2009.
He was also believed to be the leader of external operations of AQAP in Yemen. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
