Yemen orders arrest of radical US-born cleric who has inspired attacks against the West

San'a, Yemen: A Yemeni judge has ordered the country's security forces to arrest a radical US-born cleric linked to Al Qaida.

Judge Mohsen Allwan told police to deliver Anwar Al Awlaki dead or alive. The order comes as Yemen faces heavy US pressure to crack down on the country's Al Qaida offshoot after a mail bomb scheme that was thwarted a week ago.

The United States has already authorised the CIA to capture or kill Al Awlaki, who has been linked to the failed bombing of a US-bound plane in December 2009.