A former Imam at a Virginia mosque now living in Yemen, Anwar al Awlaki, has praised the actions of accused Fort Hood gunman describing him as a hero and a man of conscience.

Awlaki issued the statements on his website saying that any decent Muslim cannot serve in the US Army, which is directly invading two Muslim countries and indirectly occupying the rest.

An army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, went on a shooting spree Tuesday night at the Fort Hood army post in Texas killing 13 people and wounding 30.

Fort hood shooting