A Yemeni judge Saturday ordered troops to find and arrest the American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, days after his trial began in absentia in the capital, Sanaa.

Mr. Awlaki, thought to be a senior figure in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was charged last week with plotting to kill foreigners. The move to order his arrest comes just over a week after a plot by AQAP to send bombs on cargo planes to the US was discovered and stopped. And it comes amid signals that Yemen is under increased pressure to take care of its terrorism problem before the US decides to intervene more forcefully.

Awlaki is suspected to be hiding in the volatile Shabwa Province, where government forces have previously launched attacks on Al Qaeda. CNN reports that Yemeni security forces sent hundreds of additional troops to the province to carry out the judge’s order to “forcibly arrest” the cleric.