 He was killed by an American drone strike by a kinetic Hellfire variant with pop-up blades on January 1, 2019 that was conducted in Ma'rib Governorate, Yemen.Al-Badawi was one of the "Cole" defendants who had previously escaped from Yemeni custody during a prisoner transfer in April 2003, but he was later recaptured in March 2004.By June 2003, al-Badawi had been added to the FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list.