Awlaki's father sues for hit list

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Orders from Washington to carry out targeted killings outside of war zones is beyond constitutional law, two U.S. civil liberty groups complain.

U.S. President Barack Obama sparked controversy in April when he authorized the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, a clerical leader of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The U.S.-born cleric is accused of contacting the suspect in the November shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas, and the alleged would-be bomber of a passenger jet Christmas Day before their operations.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit challenging so-called targeted killings. They complain the Obama administration is acting outside of the law by forming a "kill list" of wanted individuals outside of a designated war zone.

"The United States cannot simply execute people, including its own citizens, anywhere in the world based on its own say-so," said CCR Executive Director Vince Warren.

The groups said the hit list is the same as handing down a death sentence without due process. This, they say, suggests the U.S. government could be targeting innocent people.

The CCR and ACLU were retained by Nasser al-Awlaki, the al-Qaida cleric's father. The complaint asks the courts to rule that extrajudicial killings are illegal "in all but the narrowest circumstances."