The son of U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki was among those killed in a trio of drone attacks in southern Yemen on Friday night , a security official said . The attacks , carried out in the Shabwa district , killed seven suspected militants , the defense ministry said . It would not confirm that Abdul Rahman Anwar Awlaki was among them . The senior security official in Shabwa , who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media , said the younger Awlaki had been hiding in the mountains of Shabwa for more than eight months . He had first-hand knowledge of the death , he said . The Awlaki family did not want to comment . On September 30 , a U.S. drone strike killed Anwar al-Awlaki , a U.S.-born miltant cleric who was a key leader of the terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP ) . President Barack Obama hailed that death as a `` major blow '' for the terror group . Friday night 's attack also killed Ibrahim al-Banna , the head media officer for AQAP , the Yemeni defense ministry said .
The son had been hiding in the mountains for more than eight months , the official says . Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: The strikes also kill the head media officer of AQAP .