U.S. officials have confirmed a second American citizen was killed in Yemen on Friday in the CIA drone strike that targeted the U.S.-born Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. In addition to Awlaki, the strike killed Samir Khan, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen who was raised in New York and Virginia. He was the editor of an English-language jihadist magazine called Inspire. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights and other groups have condemned the Obama administration for assassinating two U.S. citizens never charged with a crime. Despite the criticism, President Obama praised the drone strike on Friday.

President Barack Obama: “The death of Awlaki marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al-Qaeda and its affiliates. Furthermore, this success is a tribute to our intelligence community and to the efforts of Yemen and its security forces who have worked closely with the United States over the course of several years.”