Awlaqi charged in Yemen with incitement to kill

SANAA — Yemeni prosecutors Tuesday accused radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi of links to Al-Qaeda and incitement to kill foreigners, days after parcel bombs sent to Chicago were traced to suspected jihadists in Yemen.Awlaqi, who holds both Yemeni and US citizenship, and his relative, Othman al-Awlaqi, were both charged in absentia in a Sanaa court with "incitement to kill foreigners and members of security services."The charges arose during the trial of Hisham Mohammed Assem, a Yemeni, who was in the court on Tuesday to face charges of killing French energy contractor Jacques Spagnolo near Sanaa last month.Prosecutors told the court, which specialises in terrorism cases, that Awlaqi had corresponded with Assem for months, encouraging him to kill foreigners.All three men are also accused of "forming an armed gang to carry out criminal acts and to target foreigners and security forces on behalf of Al-Qaeda."Assem, who appeared in court with a light beard and wearing a loose-fitting light blue shirt and darker blue pants, denied the charges, said he was tortured and asked for a lawyer.The trial was adjourned until Saturday.The claims by the prosecutors bring renewed focus on Yemen, which is in the spotlight after two parcels addressed to Jewish institutions in Chicago and containing the explosive PETN hidden in ink toner cartridges were found to have been freighted from Sanaa on commercial airlines.Washington believes the parcel bombs, uncovered on Thursday in Britain and Dubai en route to the United States, are the work of Saudi militant Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, a suspected Al-Qaeda bombmaker.Awlaqi has not immediately been linked to the parcel bombs but US officials have long accused the cleric of instigating "terrorism" from Yemen, where he is believed to be hiding in a remote area of the Shabwa province controlled by his Awaliq tribe.In the wake of the scare, countries including Britain and Germany tightened air security measures, with London banning freight from Yemen and Berlin extending a ban on air frei

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