'Kill US civilians' says al-Qa'ida

An American Muslim cleric living in Yemen whose internet sermons are believed to have helped inspire attacks on the US has advocated the killing of American civilians in an al-Qa'ida video released yesterday.

Anwar al-Awlaki was singled out by US officials as a key terrorist threat and has been added to the CIA's list of targets for assassination despite his American citizenship. He is of particular concern because he is one of the few English-speaking radical clerics able to explain to young Muslims in America and other Western countries the philosophy of violent jihad.