The radical Yemeni-American preacher, Anwar Al-Awlaki, is
believed to be hiding in Yemen since 2004. The US says he is an active Al-Qaeda
recruiter and has placed him on the CIA's list of terrorist targets to be
killed or captured, despite his American citizenship. Yemen's Al-Qaeda offshoot
last month released a video of Al-Awlaki calling for the killing of Americans.
Al-Awlaki is also believed to have helped inspire recent
attacks in the US, including the Fort Hood shooting, the Times Square bombing
attempt and the failed Christmas Day airline bombing.
Yemen's Islamic Affairs Minister Hamoud Al-Hitar told The
Associated Press Yemen is encouraging Al-Awlaki to turn himself in, but if he
is apprehended, he will not be extradited to the US. "There are
constitutional and legal texts the government cannot get around," Al-Hitar
said.
He said the US should provide any proof it has of
Al-Awlaki's terrorist ties "to the Yemeni justice system, so it can do its
job."
Al-Hitar's remarks come as the US has encouraged Yemen to
step up its crackdown on Al-Qaeda. US officials worry the network's offshoot
has found refuge in the country's remote, lawless areas and could be plotting
attacks against US and other Western targets from the hide-outs. There are also
concerns that insurgents, including Americans, are training in militant camps
in Yemen.
On Monday, the US State Department said Yemeni authorities
had arrested 12 Americans. The arrests may be connected to a joint US-Yemeni
anti-terror campaign, though a department spokesman did not provide details.
High on the list of US concerns is that Al-Awlaki, born in
New Mexico to Yemeni parents, has used his fluent English and deep
understanding of American culture to explain the philosophy of violent hatred
to young Muslims in America and elsewhere in the West.
Members of Al-Awlaki's tribe deny he is connected to
Al-Qaeda despite last month's video posting featuring his calls for killing of
Americans. In the 45-minute video, Al-Awlaki said US deaths are justified and
encouraged, citing what he said was US intentional killing of a million Muslim
civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.