US targeted Awlaqi in Yemen drone strike: media

A US drone attack in Yemen targeted but failed to kill US-Yemeni cleric and terror suspect Anwar al-Awlaqi, who is linked to Al-Qaeda and considered a major threat to the United States, US media reported Friday.

The drone attack Thursday killed two local members of the militant network, a security source and witnesses told AFP in Yemen.

The Wall Street Journal and CBS reported the attack was targeting Awlaqi, the US-born radical cleric who is suspected of orchestrating terrorist attacks on the US.

Both reports cited US officials who declined to be identified.

There was no immediate comment from the White House on the reports.

Witnesses said they saw a missile fired by an aircraft hit the two brothers in the province of Shabwa, where Al-Qaeda is well entrenched. The men died instantly.

In February, Michael Leiter, director of the NationalCounterterrorism Center, told US lawmakers that Awlaqi was considered a top threat to the United States.

"I actually consider Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, with Awlaqi as a leader within that organization, probably the most significant risk to the US homeland," he said at the time.