US terror attacks common denominator: Anwar al-Awlaki

FILE - This October 2008, file photo shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. Investigators say the blast that rocked New York's Chelsea neighborhood on Sept. 17, 2016, that injured more than two dozen people, was the latest in a long line of incidents in which the attacker was inspired by al-Awlaki, the American imam-turned al-Qaida propagandist who was killed by a U.S. drone strike five years ago. (AP Photo/Muhammad ud-Deen, File) (The Associated Press)

Five years after Anwar al-Awlaki (ahn-WAHR' al-aw-LAH'-kee) was killed by an American drone strike, he keeps inspiring acts of terror.

Investigators say a bomb that injured more than two dozen people in New York a week ago was the latest in a long line of incidents in which attackers were inspired by al-Awlaki, an American imam who became an al-Qaida propagandist and was killed in Yemen.

Terror experts say al-Awlaki's online videos have inspired attackers including the brothers behind the Boston Marathon bombing.

Federal terrorism charges against New York bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami say a bloodstained notebook found on him after he was arrested included passages praising al-Awlaki. And Rahami's father says he went to authorities two years ago partly because he was concerned about his son's admiration for al-Awlaki.