According to the United States government, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki's father, Anwar al-Awlaki, was a leader of
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The U.S. drone strike that killed Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki was conducted under a policy approved by U.S. President
Barack Obama. Two U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity stated that the target of the October 14, 2011, airstrike was
Ibrahim al-Banna, an Egyptian believed to be a senior operative in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Another U.S. administration official speaking on condition of anonymity described Abdulrahman al-Awlaki as a bystander who was "in the wrong place at the wrong time", stating that "the U.S. government did not know that Mr. Awlaki's son was there" before the airstrike was ordered. Human rights groups questioned why Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was killed by the U.S. in a country with which the United States was not at war. Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the
American Civil Liberties Union, stated "if the government is going to be firing Predator missiles at American citizens, surely the American public has a right to know who's being targeted, and why." ==See also==