Killed Cleric Had Ties to 9/11 Hijackers Who Lived in Lemon Grove

The American-born al-Qaida cleric killed by the U.S. military in Yemen on Friday had ties to the two Sept. 11 hijackers who lived for a time in Lemon Grove.

Anwar al-Awlaki met the two hijackers, who rented rooms in a Lemon Grove home prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, when he was studying in San Diego and serving as iman at Masjid ar-Ribat al-Islami mosque in La Mesa, according to the 9/11 Commission Report.

The two hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, reportedly respected al-Awlaki as a religious figure and developed a close relationship with him, according to the report. The two were part of the group that hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and flew it into the Pentagon.

In 2010, KPBS reported the Islamic cleric raised red flags while in San Diego.

Early this year, it was revealed that al-Awlaki was the target of a May 5 U.S. airstrike in Yemen—but he evaded the missile.

Today, the killing of an American by the government is raising legal questions about executive power and the right to target a U.S. citizen.

And while al-Awlaki was a most-wanted terrorist who is said to have had a knack for inspiring youth to extremism, some say his loss isn't a deathblow to al-Qaida.