CNN – Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born radical cleric based in Yemen, dodged and survived an American drone assault after he switched vehicles with fellow jihadis, a senior security official told CNN on Saturday.

American officials on Friday confirmed the recent strike, an operation that one defense official said was carried out by the U.S. military.

Al-Awlaki and a Saudi member of AQAP were traveling in a pickup truck. The drone shot three missiles at the vehicle and missed. Al-Awlaki and his companion were able to escape the scene in the brothers’ Suzuki Vitara.

This appears to corroborate U.S. assertions that the strike appeared to have killed two al Qaeda operatives affiliated with al-Awlaki, and the notorious militant survived.

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