Relatives: US-born Yemeni cleric was not harmed in government air raid on al-Qaida meeting

Relatives: US-born Yemeni cleric alive and well

SAN’A, Yemen — Friends and relatives of a U.S.-born Yemeni radical cleric say he is alive and well following reports he may have been killed in a Yemeni airstrike against suspected al-Qaida hideouts.

The government said at least 30 militants, possibly including Anwar al-Awlaki, were killed in the airstrike in the remote Shabwa region.

But on Friday, a friend of the cleric, Abu Bakr al-Awlaki, said he was not among those killed. He refused to say if the cleric was attending the meeting targeted by Yemeni airplanes on Thursday. The strikes were carried out with U.S. and Saudi intelligence help.

The cleric’s brother, who only agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, said he also received assurances that his older sibling is still alive.