Category Archives: Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda now using dogs to transport bombs

1 NovpmWed, 17 Nov 2010 18:31:33 -06002010-11-17T18:31:33-06:0006 2009 – 18:31

A horrifying story out of Iraq reveals that al Qaeda operatives sewed bombs inside the bellies of unsuspecting dogs who were placed in kennels to be loaded onto planes bound for the U.S. The French daily newspaper Le Figaro reports that the plot was exposed when the dogs died and the implanted explosive devices were discovered. The cause of death was the clumsiness of the “surgery” done on the poor animals.

http://www.examiner.com/manhattan-conservative-in-new-york/al-qaeda-hits-new-low-sews-bombs-inside-dogs

By terrortrends | Also posted in Iraq | Comments (0)

Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bombings

1 NovpmWed, 17 Nov 2010 18:20:17 -06002010-11-17T18:20:17-06:0006 2009 – 18:20

Ahmed Ghailani was found not guilty on all but one charge Wednesday by a civilian jury in New York.

Ghailani was acquitted on 224 murder charges in connection with the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was found guilty for only one charge of conspiracy to destroy government buildings.(So he did take part in the operation to blow up the buildings in which the 224 people died, but he only gets punished for destroying the buildings.)

The judge had earlier decided that a star witness would not be allowed to testify because of coercive techniques that were used to get the witness’ name from Ghailani.

(The judge is a traitor.)

Jihadis walk and we get our crotches felt up by government employees who couldn’t get hired at McDonald’s…

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11/17/gitmo-detainee-ahmed-ghailani-guilty-terrorism-charges/

By terrortrends | Also posted in Guantanomo, Kenya, Tanzania, Terrorist attack | Comments (0)

Report: Al Qaeda has sent Jihadist Terrorists to Germany, Britain for Attack

1 NovamWed, 17 Nov 2010 10:51:25 -06002010-11-17T10:51:25-06:0010 2009 – 10:51

German intelligence has received evidence from the US that Al Qaeda has sent two to four terrorists who were en route to Germany and Britain, the daily Tagesspiegel reported.

Intelligence agents reportedly fear attacks on Christmas markets or similar popular events.

The organizer of the attack is reported to be Mohammed Ilyas Kashmiri, a prominent Al Qaeda leader from Pakistan. Kashmiri is also thought to be behind an attack earlier this year on a German bakery in Pune, India, in which 17 people were killed.

Kashmiri is said to have recruited the Jihadis for the latest planned attacks from the Afghan-Pakistani border area. The terrorists’ identity is not known.

The report indicated that the terrorists planned to travel to Germany and Britain via India and the United Arab Emirates. German police had been checking visa requests at embassies in Pakistan, India and the UAE in recent days.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1599662.php/Report-al-Qaeda-sent-operatives-to-Germany-for-attack-Extra

Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri

By terrortrends | Also posted in Europe, Germany, Great Britain, India, Pakistan, Terrorist attack, UAE | Comments (1)

France in contact with AQIM hostage-takers

1 NovamWed, 17 Nov 2010 10:23:12 -06002010-11-17T10:23:12-06:0010 2009 – 10:23

France said for the first time Wednesday that it was in touch with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb kidnappers holding French hostages in Mali.

Seven hostages — five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan — were seized in a Niger uranium-mining town overnight on September 15-16.

Intelligence agents in the countries concerned believe they are being held in an area of the Sahara desert in neighbouring Mali.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has told France to treat the kidnapping as a warning and that a ban on the wearing of the Islamic veil in public places in France justified violence against its citizens.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h382yx3am-roHcFhi5xb30f1H0vg?docId=CNG.fdbb7c4f77a7e27e62fcb703b7e9f08a.111

 

By terrortrends | Also posted in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, France, Hostage taking, Mali, Osama Bin Laden | Comments (0)

Islamic militants kill 32 in Somalia

1 AugamTue, 24 Aug 2010 07:19:56 -06002010-08-24T07:19:56-06:0007 2009 – 07:19

A suicide bomber and gunmen wearing military uniforms attacked a hotel near Somalia’s presidential palace Monday, sparking a running gun battle with security forces. At least 32 people were killed, including six Somali parliamentarians.

The multi-pronged assault came less than 24 hours after the country’s most dangerous militant group — al-Shabab — threatened a “massive” war against what it labeled as invaders, a reference to the 6,000 African Union troops in Mogadishu.

Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for the al-Shabab militia, said that members of the group’s “special forces” had carried out the attack against those “aiding the infidels.”

Militant veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are believed to be helping train members of al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaida. Tuesday’s assault is only the latest in a series of increasingly lethal attacks. Last month the group claimed responsibility for twin bombings during the World Cup final in Uganda’s capital, blasts that killed 76 people.

Al-Shabab said the attack was in retaliation for Uganda’s role in the African Union force in Mogadishu.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08/23/killed-somalia-fighting-al-shabab-spokesman-declares-massive-war-invaders/

By terrortrends | Also posted in al Shabaab, Jihad, Somalia, Terrorist attack, Uganda | Comments (0)

American Operatives Helping Push al Qaida’s “War of Attrition”

1 AugpmFri, 20 Aug 2010 16:16:30 -06002010-08-20T16:16:30-06:0004 2009 – 16:16

The ever-expanding list of U.S.-bred al Qaida operatives shows the terror group is trying to “flood the zone” of U.S. intelligence services to capitalize on what it considers a weakened America in the midst of a recession. This goal involves pushing forward an assortment of attacks and terror plots by lone wolves and poorly trained cells, experts say.

Al Qaida “has never claimed it could or would defeat the U.S. militarily. Instead, it seeks to wear us down economically through increasing expenditures on domestic security and overseas military commitments,” Georgetown University Professor Bruce Hoffman said in recent congressional testimony. “Given the current global economic downturn, this message arguably now has greater resonance with al Qaida’s followers and supporters and perhaps even with new recruits.”

The goal behind these activities is “to consume the attention of law enforcement and intelligence in the hopes that this distraction will permit more serious terrorist operations to go unnoticed and thereby sneak in ‘beneath the radar’ and succeed,” Hoffman said.

Al Qaida “and its Pakistani, Somali and Yemeni allies arguably have been able to accomplish the unthinkable: establishing at least an embryonic terrorist recruitment, radicalization and operational infrastructure in the United States with effects both at home and abroad,” Hoffman said.

http://www.investigativeproject.org/2116/jihads-ugly-american-face

By terrortrends | Also posted in Anwar Al-Awlaki, Homegrown Jihad, Homeland Security | Comments (0)

Thrice Charged in Al Qaeda Plots and Out on Bail…

1 AugamWed, 11 Aug 2010 07:36:21 -06002010-08-11T07:36:21-06:0007 2009 – 07:36

A Kenyan Muslim who once admitted that he was part of a planned Al Qaeda operation to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is now facing charges in connection with last month’s Al Qaeda attacks in Uganda but is free on bail.

Salmin Mohammed Khamis, 34, also was acquitted in 2005 in the bombing of a beachfront hotel frequented by Israeli tourists, two years after he divulged the embassy plot. Khamis was never even charged in connection with the embassy case, despite his confession.

He was one of seven people acquitted in the 2002 Islamikaze bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa, Kenya in which 15 people were killed. He also was acquitted of charges in connection with a failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli passenger plane with a SA-7 man-portable surface to air missile that same day.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08/11/man-charged-harboring-ugandans-said-al-qaida-plot-blow-embassy/

By terrortrends | Also posted in Failed terrorist attack, Islamikaze attack, Kenya, Suicide Bombing, Terrorist attack, Uganda | Comments (1)

Al Shabaab Support Ring Broken Up

1 AugpmFri, 06 Aug 2010 17:28:02 -06002010-08-06T17:28:02-06:0005 2009 – 17:28

Two Muslim Americans are under arrest and 12 other individuals, including five Islamic U.S. citizens, have been charged with acts of terrorism that include providing money, personnel, and other material support to the Somali-based terrorist organization al Shabaab.

Results of an FBI-led global investigation were announced this week at Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, where indictments were unsealed charging individuals in Minnesota, Alabama, and California. Twelve of the 14 under indictment are fugitives believed to be in Somalia, demonstrating the weakness of treating Jihad as if it was a law enforcement issue and not war.

These indictments and arrests shed further light on a deadly pipeline that has routed funding and Islamic Jihadists to al Shabaab from the Muslim community in cities across America.

The US government designated Somalia-based al Shabaab a terrorist organization in 2008. The group has ties to al Qaeda and has made numerous public statements threatening to attack the United States and its citizens.

Jihadist terrorist organizations such as al Shabaab continue to recruit U.S. citizens from Muslim communities in the U.S. and elsewhere to train and wage Jihad and to provide support for their Jihadist terrorism.

The two Jihadists arrested this week—females who were naturalized U.S. citizens and residents of Minnesota—have been charged with raising money to support al Shabaab through door-to-door solicitations and teleconferences in Somali Muslim communities in Minnesota and other locations in the U.S. and Canada. The Justice Department claims that in some cases, funds were raised under the false pretense that they would be used to help the poor, but it is just as likely that the fundraisers were simply asking for zakat donations, which can go to Islamic charities, the poor and any of 8 approved destinations under Shariah law.  One of those approved destinations is to those “fighting in the way of allah.” We can only hope that the Justice Department has a better understanding of zakat than their statement indicates.

The other indicted Jihadists—mostly young men—were charged with leaving the U.S. to join al Shabaab in Somalia.

Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Minneapolis, Mobile, and San Diego played a particularly significant role in this investigation, illustrating how widespread and far-reaching the threat of Jihad in America has become.

In Minnesota alone, between September 2007 and October 2009, at least 20 Muslim men traveled from Minneapolis to Somalia for al Shabaab terrorist training. Many of them ultimately fought for the Muslim terrorist group against Ethiopian forces, African Union troops, and the weak, transitional government there. At least one man from Minneapolis went on to become the first known U.S. citizen suicide bomber.

These individuals are wanted for providing material support to the Somalia-based Islamic Jihadist terrorist organization al-Shabaab.


Omar Hammami of Alabama

Jehad Serwan Mostafa of California

Abdikadir Ali Abdi of Minnesota

Abdisalan Hussein Ali of Minnesota

Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax of Minnesota

Farah Mohamed Beledi of Minnesota

Abdiweli Yassin Isse of Minnesota

Ahmed Ali Omar of Minnesota

Khalid Mohamud Abshir of Minnesota

Zakaria Maruf of Minnesota

Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan of Minnesota

Mustafa Ali Salat of Minnesota

More information on this case here:

http://www.examiner.com/x-2684-Law-Enforcement-Examiner~y2010m8d6-14-terrorism-suspects-indicted-in-three-US-states?cid=examiner-email


By terrortrends | Also posted in al Shabaab, Al Shahab, Homegrown Jihad, Islam, Islamic Charities, Islamic Jihad, Jihad, Somalia, terrorism funding | Comments (0)

New Al Qaeda Leader Lived in USA for 15 Years

1 AugpmFri, 06 Aug 2010 16:43:28 -06002010-08-06T16:43:28-06:0004 2009 – 16:43

As if we needed any more evidence of the enemy in our midst, we have fresh reports that 35-year old Adnan Shukrijumah, pictured in this post, has now taken an operational leadership role in Al Qaeda.

Shukrijumah has an “interesting” background. Born in Saudi Arabia, Shukrijumah moved with his family to the United States when he was a teenager. He grew up in Florida, where his mother still lives. His father was an Imam and reportedly on the Saudi government payroll, no doubt for Islamic dawa operations in Florida.

Shukrijumah attended Broward Community College in Broward County, Florida, but it is not entirely clear when he joined Al Qaeda. He has been among the FBI’s most wanted terrorists for years.

The fact that he has evidently elevated to a high level operational position in Al Qaeda suggests that Al Qaeda could once again be focusing on planning attacks in the USA…

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/06/report-new-al-qaida-leader-knows/

By terrortrends | Also posted in Adnan Shukrijumah, Homegrown Jihad, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Jihad, NYC subway plot, Saudi Arabia | Comments (0)

State Department Releases Country Reports on Terrorism 2009

1 AugpmFri, 06 Aug 2010 14:46:03 -06002010-08-06T14:46:03-06:0002 2009 – 14:46

State Department: Al-Qaida Still Top U.S. Terror Threat

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2010 – Transnational terrorism poses the United States’ gravest security threat, with al-Qaida’s core in Pakistan remaining the most-formidable terrorist organization targeting the U.S. homeland, according to a new State Department report covering worldwide terrorist activity during 2009.

“Country Reports on Terrorism 2009,” released today, notes al-Qaida’s continued adaptability and resilience and concludes that its desire to attack the United States and its interests abroad “remains strong.”

Citing U.S. intelligence community assessments, the report concludes that al-Qaida actively plotted against the United States and continued recruiting, training and deploying operatives, including some from Western Europe and North America, during the reporting period. It also recognizes al-Qaida’s efforts to expand its operational capabilities by partnering with other terrorist groups, with varying degrees of success.

These developments came despite al-Qaida setbacks during 2009. The report cites a Pakistani military offensive aimed at eliminating military strongholds, the loss of many top leaders and conditions that have made it more difficult for al-Qaida to raise money, train recruits and plan attacks.

Daniel Benjamin, the department’s counterterrorism coordinator, said al-Qaida’s attacks on Muslims have hurt its standing in the Muslim world. The latest annual State Department report aims to enhance understanding of the international terrorist threat and help to shape efforts to confront it, he explained.

The report tracked the 10,999 terrorist attacks worldwide last year that claimed 14,971 lives. This reflected the lowest number in five years, down from a high of 14,443 attacks in 2006 that left 22,736 people dead.

The report identified Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba as state sponsors of terrorism. Calling Iran the most active of the four, the report said its support for extremists in the region “had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened economic stability in the [Persian] Gulf, jeopardized the tenuous peace in southern Lebanon and undermined the growth of democracy.”

Also identified in the report were terrorist safe havens, by region. In South Asia, it cited Afghanistan and Pakistan; in the Middle East, Iraq, northern Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen; in Africa, Somalia and the Trans-Sahara; and in East Asia and the Pacific, the Sulawesi Sea and Sulu Archipelago.

In the Western Hemisphere, the report identified Venezuela as well as the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay tri-border area as terrorist safe havens.

The report cites U.S. efforts to strengthen its counterterrorism strategy, but emphasizes that an effective policy must go beyond law enforcement, intelligence and military efforts.

Instead, the administration is formulating policies designed to shape and constrain the environments where terrorists operate. The goal, Benjamin explained, is to undermine the appeal of al-Qaida’s world view and isolate extremists.

“Our actions are guided by a recognition of the phenomenon of radicalization and the need to prevent more people from committing themselves to violence,” he said.

The United States is seeking ways to address the root causes of radicalism, he said, confronting the political, social and economic conditions that terrorist organizations exploit to win over recruits and financiers. Part of this involves expanding foreign assistance where violent extremism has made inroads, such as Pakistan and Yemen.

As the United States refines its own counterterrorism strategy, Benjamin said, it’s increasingly reaching out to the international community to confront terrorism multilaterally.

“We are seeking to boost the political will and strengthen the resolve of leaders around the world to confront terrorist threats,” Benjamin said, calling that will “essential” to addressing terrorism over the long term.

“Ultimately, our success will hinge on strengthening the ability of others around the world to deal with terrorism in their countries and regions,” he said.

Here is a link to the entire report:

http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2009/index.htm

By terrortrends | Also posted in terrorist group listings | Comments (0)