Sep 8, 2008 9:44 am US/Pacific
Al Qaeda Member From O.C. May Be Dead
Adam Gadahn Possibly Killed In Air Strike On Afghan-Pakistani Border
SANTA ANA
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Adam Gadahn, aka Azzam al-Amriki, may have been killed in an air strike along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
AP
An American propagandist for Al Qaeda who was raised in Orange County may have been killed along the Afghan-Pakistani border in an air strike by an unmanned U.S. Predator aircraft, according to intelligence experts quoted by a British newspaper.
Gadahn has been credited with helping transform Al Qaeda's propaganda wing into a slick operation able to communicate in fluent English and produce professional quality DVDs, including one for Osama bin Laden last year.
He may have been killed by a predator assassination, which have targeted and killed many of the terrorist group's military commanders, trainers and facilitators in the past year, according to London's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Gadahn has not been heard from for months, leading intelligence experts to conclude that he may be dead, the Telegraph reported.
Jihadists around the world will be watching as closely as intelligence officials this week to see whether Gadahn, also known as Azzam al-Ameriki -- Azzam the American -- produces a new video message to mark 9/11, as he has done every year since 2003, according to the Telegraph.
Gadahn has been is under indictment on U.S. federal charges of treason and providing material support to the enemy, with a $1 million bounty on his head.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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