Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

When Anwar al-Awlaki joined Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, he knew he could be jailed or killed by the US government. What he didn’t know was that his death would come at the hands of a person he trusted with his life.

So how did Awlaki make a mortal enemy inside his own inner circle?

This is part 2 of our short series on Anwar al-Awlaki. If you haven't seen it you should watch part 1 first: youtu.be/fKinuNGcdtQ?si=eJdZINApUIpdosN2

Host: Aslan Pahari
Producer: Hannah Jose
Audio Engineer: Emrys Cronin
Video Producers: Tejas Bhat, Dylan Behan
Special thanks: Michael Osmond for archives research
Supervising Producer: Kyla Slaven
Executive Producers: Joel Werner, Eric George, Jessica Radburn

To binge even more great episodes of ASSASSINS with Aslan Pahari go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more stories of the world’s most shocking assassinations – from the lone wolf hitman to the professional assassin, you’ll hear how famous figures like Abraham Lincoln, Benazir Bhutto, Ramses III, Tupac and Gandhi met their end.

Chapters
00:00 Opening
02:57 Intro
05:37 Morten Storm
07:18 The Preacher wants a wife
09:21 Plot against Al-Awlaki
13:35 Terror Tuesday
15:07 Assassination
17:18 Al-Awlaki’s family

Welcome to ABC News In-depth, where you'll find our long-form journalism and other videos to help you understand what's going on in the world around you.

Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.

#ABCNewsIndepth #ABCNewsAustralia