Category Archives: Yemen

Osama Bin Laden moved around a lot while on the run

1 MaramSat, 31 Mar 2012 09:33:36 -06002012-03-31T09:33:36-06:0009 2009 – 09:33

We have always been skeptical that Osama Bin Laden maintained operational control over much of Al Qaeda while he was on the run, dodging US forces.

When US Special Operations forces caught up with Bin Laden and killed him in a compound in Pakistan, it was initially assumed, or at least reported, that he had been laid up there for almost the entire time he was on the run.

It was also widely reported that because Bin Laden was in a secure location for so long, he likely maintained operational control over Al Qaeda globally. That simply did not ring true to us then and it doesn’t now that it has been revealed that Bin Laden in fact lived a vagabond life, moving to five safe houses in widely separated parts of Afghanistan and then Pakistan.

The meme that Bin Laden maintained operational control over Al Qaeda while he was evading US forces was touted to essentially turn the killing of the terrorist leader into an “end-game” event in the so-called “war on terror.”

The Left in particular has promoted that narrative, but some neo-isolationists on the right have subscribed to it as well.

We buy into that rubbish at our peril. Assuming that the Jihadists will end their war against the West in general, and the US in particular, because the SEALs killed Bin Laden is irresponsible.

It defies belief that Bin Laden could possibly have maintained operational control over Al Qaeda given the conditions which he was forced to endure post 9/11.

Al Qaeda has become decentralized and its followers and admirers around the world, such as Mohammed Merah in France, will continue to act with brutal violence. Meanwhile, Al Qaeda “affiliates” continue to be active in Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Libya, Mali and Niger to name a few.

The death of Bin Laden at the hands of US Navy SEALs was a great thing. But to assign “victory” to that single act would in fact be to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2122752/Osama-living-version-Kardashians-Abbottabad-Bin-Laden-fathered-FOUR-children-lived-houses-years-run-Pakistan-9-11.html

By terrortrends | Also posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al Shabaab, Al Shahab, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, France, Libya, Mali, Mohammed Merah, Nigeria, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Syria, terrorist group listings, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Was Bin Laden in Charge and Will his Death Defeat Jihad?

1 MaypmSun, 15 May 2011 14:59:23 -06002011-05-15T14:59:23-06:0002 2009 – 14:59

In the wake of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, there is a debate as to the extent that Bin Laden was operationally in charge of Al Qaeda. There have also been those who have naively speculated that Bin Laden’s death means an end to the war on terror or even Jihad altogether.

It seems apparent that Bin Laden was actively communicating with Al Qaeda elements, but it wasn’t in real time. He used a system of couriers to relay messages via email and the internet, but went to great pains to securely communicate. This means no direct internet connection and no phones, cellular, satellite or landline.

This would preclude any real dialogue with operators and cells. It seems as if Bin Laden was able to communicate in general terms about his “commander’s intent,” but was in no position to take part in detailed planning. Bin Laden wanted his followers to carry out mass casualty attacks, he wanted the attacks to occur on important anniversaries and holidays, and he was especially interested in attacks on trains, which is not hard to believe given that Jihadists have been targeting trains in the UK, Spain, France, Germany and India in recent years.

Unfortunately, what this probably means is that the loss of Bin Laden will not operationally hinder Al Qaeda. It may hurt the group’s morale and it may erode some of the group’s financial and moral support, but it might also energize those who seek to avenge Bin Laden’s death at the hands of US special operations forces.

Al Qaeda doctrinal leader Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri still lives and he has been by far more active in communicating in recent years than Bin Laden was. Anwar Al-Awlaki is still at large in Yemen and he has been the one who has successfully trained and inspired Jihadi attacks on US targets in recent years, such as the Fort Hood Jihadi murderer, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Underwear Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Little Rock Jihadist murderer, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (aka Carlos Bledsoe) and the unsuccessful plot to send bombs embedded in printer cartridges from Yemen to the US on board cargo and passenger airliners.

Muslim Brotherhood apologist Peter Bergen maintains that Awlaki is a small player and that the war on terror should end with the killing of Bin Laden, but this is hardly surprising that Bergen essentially built a career around Bin Laden, including perpetuating the illusion that Bergen himself was some sort of expert on Jihad because he had managed to spend a few hours with Bin Laden in a tent 13 years ago or so.

On top of all this, there is the additional issue of groups and organizations sympathetic to Al Qaeda and allied with Al Qaeda, but not actually part of Al Qaeda. Two significant organizations fall into this category: the Taliban and Lashkar e Taiba.

The Taliban need no introduction, but many people do not realize two things about the Taliban: Taliban leader Mullah Omar specifically declined to merge with Al Qaeda and refused to take an oath of loyalty to Bin Laden. Because of this, Bin Laden exercised no operational control over the Taliban. Second, the failed Times Square bomb plot appears to have been a Taliban operation, vice an Al Qaeda operation: https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/new-york-times-square-car-bomb-bulletin/

The significance of this is that the Taliban are willing and able to attempt terrorist attacks here in America. Adding to this worry is the recent news that six American Muslims, including Imams at a Florida mosque, appear to have been raising money for the Taliban: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387185/Imam-Florida-mosque-sons-arrested-charges-financing-Taliban-Pakistan.html  Moreover, there is no ignoring the Taliban’s recent bombing attack against a Pakistani paramilitary training facility in northern Pakistan, which was declared as vengeance for Bin Laden’s death–with the promise of more to come.

Unfortunately, the slaying of Osama Bin Laden will have no operational impact on Taliban operations.

Then there is Lashkar e Taiba, the Pakistani Jihadi terrorist group which carried out the horrific Mumbai attacks. Again, this is a group that is often misidentified as an Al Qaeda affiliate, but, like the Taliban, LeT is a separate, standalone organization that declined to pledge any oath to Osama Bin Laden.

What does LeT have to do with America? Two things:

1. The Jihadist who conducted recon ahead of the Mumbai attacks was an American from Chicago named David Coleman Headley:

https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/18-american-jihadist-terrorists/

In fact, Headley also conducted recon on an Indian nuclear power plant as well:

https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/chicago-jihadi-conducted-recon-on-nuke-plant-for-lashkar-e-taiba/

2. LeT is known to be active in America:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/927uxqry.asp

Members of the group fought against US forces in Iraq back in 2004. The group is known to have a presence in Germany and the UK as well.

These are just two examples of Jihadi organizations that pose a threat to America that will not be impacted at all by the death of Bin Laden.

Then there is the “lone wolf” threat, the so-called “sudden jihad syndrome” threat in which enraged Muslims commit acts of violence because they were inspired by organizations like Al Qaeda and people like Osama Bin Laden. There have been examples of this, the most recent being the case of a Yemeni-American who tried to storm the cockpit door of an American Airlines flight whilst screaming “AllahuAkbar!” Fortunately, the reinforced door was securely locked and there were a retired Secret Service agent and retired police officer on board who subdued the subject:

http://www.examiner.com/headlines-in-san-francisco/did-yemen-man-yells-allahu-akbar-incident-outside-cockpit-door-video

Officials have issued warnings about such “lone wolf” attacks in the wake of Bin Laden getting his brains blown out:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/05/10/bin.laden.attacks/

What of Al Qaeda itself? At least four Al Qaeda affiliates have either declared their intent to avenge Bin Laden’s death or issued veiled threats to carry on with the Jihad:

Somalia’s Al Shabaab, including Daphne, Alabama-born Jihadist, Abu Mansur Al-Amriki, mourned Bin Laden’s passing in a radio communication, confirming, incidentally, Al Qaeda’s role in fighting US forces in Somalia way back in 1993:

http://www.raxanreeb.com/?p=95817

In Indonesia, Jemmaah Islamiyah leader Abu Bakar Bashir, mourned Bin Laden and issued a veiled threat:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/jemaah-islamiyahs-abu-bakar-bashir-says-death-of-bin-laden-wont-kill-al-qaeda/story-fn3dxity-1226049072983

And, finally, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (which has been especially active in hostage taking in recent months and years) and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, both vowed to carry on with Jihad after Bin Laden’s death:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.312069e9fc4253641862a854552f7c85.8b1&show_article=1

http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/05/al_qaeda_affiliates_weigh_in_o.php

None of this takes two other significant Jihadi terrorist threats into account: Hezbollah and HAMAS.

Hezbollah has not issued any comments on Bin Laden’s death, but a former Hezbollah leader mourned Bin Laden as a hero who defended Islam:

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=45936

Hezbollah has not targeted Americans with terrorism in recent years, but they did take an active combat and advisory role against US forces in Iraq and they are believed to have a substantial presence inside the USA. Most recently, reports have once again surfaced of the group’s presence along the American-Mexico border:

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4692389/terror-on-the-border/

What could touch off renewed attacks by Hezbollah? A confrontation with Iran for one.

The same can be said for the Palestinian Jihadist terrorist group HAMAS. Like Hezbollah, HAMAS is greatly dependent on Iran for financing, arms and training. Any confrontation with Iran carries with it the danger of HAMAS terror attacks. Many Americans do not remember that Palestinian terrorists used to target Americans with regularity. They stopped, not out of love for America, but to avoid being targeted by American power. HAMAS has the same basic goals as Al Qaeda and issued a eulogy honoring Bin Laden in which they bestowed upon him the honorific title “Sheikh:”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdDapb1rrvk

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488479/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-Hamas-condemns-killing-of-bin-Laden.html

HAMAS is known to have conducted extensive fundraising inside America and, like Hezbollah, is believed to have a major presence inside our country.

So, we have no answers but certainly some educated guesses:

• Bin Laden was unlikely to have played an active operational role in Al Qaeda in recent times; most likely he was limited to expressing “commander’s intent” via intermediaries with little or no direct contact with operatives around the globe.

• The Jihad will of course continue.  Jihad is not limited to a few groups and it didn’t commence on September 11th, 2001. It’s been going on for a millennium and is based on Shariah doctrine, not just the personal philosophy of Osama Bin Laden. Jihad, however, can be made dormant for a period through strong resistance since, according to Shariah, Muslims are specifically not supposed to wage Jihad if they are not strong enough to do so, therefore the situation is far from hopeless.

Al Qaeda and its affiliates have pledged to continue the Jihad and allied Jihadist groups still pose an independent threat above and beyond Al Qaeda. In fact Bin Laden’s death may ironically spur them to action. This says nothing of the threat from Jihadists that were not aligned with Bin Laden, such as Hezbollah and HAMAS, who pose an ongoing, if dormant, threat to Americans.

Now is no time to rest or become complacent. Just the opposite.

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Abu Sayyaf, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al Shabaab, Al Shahab, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Carlos Bledsoe, Faisal Shahzad, Fort Hood Massacre, Germany, Great Britain, HAMAS, Hezbollah, Homegrown Jihad, Homeland Security, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, London transit bombings, Madrid train bombing, Mexico, Mumbai attack, Muslim Brotherhood, Nidal Malik Hasan, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Palestinian terrorism, Philippines, Somalia, Sudden Jihad Syndrome, Taliban, terrorism funding, Times Square bomb attack, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, Zawahiri | Comments (0)

Ron Paul: Blame America First for Jihad

1 ApramTue, 26 Apr 2011 06:22:11 -06002011-04-26T06:22:11-06:0006 2009 – 06:22

Ron Paul is at it again.

But let’s not get to worked up about the crazy old loon. After all, he’ll be 76 in August. That will make him 77 by the time the next president is inaugurated. That’s nearly the age President Reagan was when he left office after two terms.

Ron Paul isn’t in this race to win. He’s one of those perpetual candidates for president who just adores the attention.

In his latest appearance on Fox News, Paul manages to stick to his McGovern-like “Blame America First” script with the tired old assumption that Jihad is being waged against us just because we are in Saudi Arabia, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or especially because we are an ally of Israel. Paul appears to be a disciple of Michael Schuerer, who has been spouting that line since BEFORE he left the CIA.

Anyway, the good folks at Gateway Pundit posted Paul’s appearance. My comments follow the link:

http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/04/crazy-ron-paul-still-blames-the-us-for-islamic-extremism-video/

Here are my thoughts:

It is interesting that Ron Paul bases his entire philosophy on the global Islamic insurgency on the opinions of Michael Sheuer. Michael Sheuer epitomizes all that is wrong with America’s bureaucratized counterterrorism apparatus. First of all, he broke longstanding CIA regulations at the encouragement of his politicized superiors to write a book while in active service. This alone makes him a scumbag in my book. Thousands of honorable CIA operators could have done the same, but none did. There is a reason. It’s called honor. Second, Sheuer had a uniquely disturbing career in the CIA. A career analyst with no field experience, he was somehow allowed to become a case officer and eventually found himself in charge of the CIA unit tasked with killing or capturing Bin Laden. He failed miserably. Moreover, if you actually read his work, it is readily apparent that Sheuer has at best a superficial level of knowledge of Islamic threat doctrine. He is appallingly ignorant for someone who was in the position he was in. This has resulted in his belief that we are only being attacked because of things we have done and especially for our support for Israel.

I ask my friends:

Is Jemmaah Islamiya attempting to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia because the US supports Israel?

Are the Chechyan jihadists waging Jihad against Russia because the US supports Israel?

Is Abu Sayyef attempting to establish an Islamic state on Mindanao because the US supports Israel?

Are Jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state in southern Thailand because the US supports Israel?

Have Nigerian Jihadists attacked innocent Christians repeatedly because the US supports Israel?

Is Al Shabaad conducting terrorist attacks in Kenya and Somalia on innocent civilians because the US supports Israel?

Are Jihadists attempting to create an Islamic state in India’s Kashmir because the US supports Israel?

Have Jihadists killed thousands in attacks on innocent civilians in Morocco, Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, the UK, Spain, Jordan and Bangladesh because the US supports Israel?

Are young Jihadis rioting in France because the US supports Israel?

Why is all this happening? Could it be that there is something more to this global violence than the simple “blame America first” concept that Ron Paul supposes?

Why hasn’t he bothered to learn about the enemy threat doctrine?

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Abu Sayyaf, Al Qaeda, al Shabaab, appeasement, India, Indonesia, Islam, Israel, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Madrid train bombing, Nigeria, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Taliban, Thailand, United Kingdom | Comments (1)

Long War Journal: Wikileaks documents link Pakistani, Iranian, and Yemeni intelligence agencies to Al Qaeda

1 AprpmMon, 25 Apr 2011 14:51:15 -06002011-04-25T14:51:15-06:0002 2009 – 14:51

A classified document used by military and intelligence officials in the determination of a Guantanamo detainee’s linkages to al Qaeda and associated movements lists the intelligence services of Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen as “associated forces” known to support al Qaeda and allied movements, including the Taliban.

The document, titled “Matrix of Threat Indicators for Enemy Combatants,” was one of more than 700 documents released to select news agencies by WikiLeaks.

List of al Qaeda and Taliban associated forces, according to the Matrix of Threat Indicators for Enemy Combatants document:

Afghan Support Committee (Afghan Support Group)
Al-Muhajiroun [ALM]
Al-Itihad Al-Islami [AIAI]
Al-Qaida Network
Ansar al-Islam [AI]
Armed Islamic Group [GIA]
East Africa al-Qaida [EAAQ]
Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party [ETIP]
Gama”a Islamia [GI]
Harakat Al-Mujahideen [HUM]
Hezb-I-Islami-Gulbuddin (AMC Entity) [HIG]
Hizballah Islah Party Islamic Movement of Tajikistan (ACM Entity) [IMT]
Islamic Salvation Front [FIS]
Jaysh Al-Muhammad [JEM]
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group [LIFG]
Moro Islamic Liberation Front [MILF]
Muslim Brotherhood [MB]
Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate [ISID]
Anti-Coalition Militia [ACM]
Council of Islamic Courts [CIC]
East Turkistan Islamic Movement [ETIM]
Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Islamic Jihad [EIJ]
HAMAS
Harakat-Ul-Jihad-I-Islami [HUJI]
Hezb-I-Islami-Khalis-(ACM Entity) [HIK]
Iranian Intelligence
Islamic Jihad Union (Islamic Jihad Group) [IJU, IJG]
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan [IMU]
Jama”at Al-Islami [JI]
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (and its political wing MDI) [LT]
Maktab Al-Khadimat [MK]
Moroccan Islamic Combat Group [GICM]
North African Extremist Network
Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs [RSRSBCM]
Salafist Group for Call and Combat [GSPC]
Takfir wa Hijra [TAKFIR]
Tunisian Combat Group [TCG]
Yemeni Intelligence [PSO]
Active Islamic Youth NGO
Al-Akhtar Trust NGO
Al-Haramayn International Foundation NGO (HIF, HIFA)
Salafiya Jihadia (SJ)
Taliban Tunisian Islamic Front [precursor to Tunisian Combat Group, TCG] [FIT]
Zarqawi Network (al-Qaida in Iraq)
African Muslim Association (sometimes Agency) NGO (AMA)
Al-Furqan NGO
Al-Wafa Humanitarian Organization NGO, al-Wafa al-Islamiya, Munathima Wafa lalA”mal al-Agathia, Munathima Wafa lalA”mal al-Ansania, Wafa Global Relief Foundation NGO (GRF) International Islamic Relief Organization NGO [IIRO]
Kuwaiti Joint Relief Committee NGO [KJRC]
Maktab al-Khidmat NGO [MK]
Qatari Joint Committee for Relief NGO Revival of Islamic Heritage Society NGO [RIHS]
Saudi High Commission for Relief NGO [SHCR] Ummah Tameer Nau NGO [UTN]
Benevolence International Foundation (Lajnat Al-Bir Al-Islami) NGO [BIF]
Human Appeal International NGO Jama”at Al-Tablighi NGO [JT]
Lajnat Al-Dawa Al-Islamiya NGO [LDI]
Muslim World League NGO Rashid Trust NGO
Sanabil NGO Taibah NGO World Assembly of Muslim Youth NGO [WAMY]

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/04/gitmo_docs_link_paki.php

By terrortrends | Also posted in Al Qaeda, Iran, Pakistan, terrorist group listings | Comments (0)

Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (Carlos Bledsoe) Confesses to More Murderous Jihad

1 AprpmWed, 13 Apr 2011 17:10:39 -06002011-04-13T17:10:39-06:0005 2009 – 17:10

Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, (formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe) who reportedly studied jihad with an Islamic scholar in Yemen, is being tried for the shooting of two US Army soldiers outside a Little Rock, Arkansas armed forces recruiting office in the spring of 2009.

Tennessee's murdering Jihadist terrorist Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad

Muhammad shot Private William Long and Private Quinton I. Ezeagwula. Long died from his wounds.

Since that incident we have learned more about Muhammad’s violent actions after he returned from Yemen. For example, we have learned that he attempted to fire bomb the house of a Nashville rabbi with a Molotov cocktail.

Now we learn that Muhammad has cryptically confessed to another killing. In a letter to the Arkansas judge presiding over his trial for the recruiting center shootings, Muhammad claims that he killed another person back in 2006 because that person was robbing and harassing Muslims.

Muhammad has not offered any clues as to who the victim was or exactly where this crime may have occurred, only that it was in his home state of Tennessee. The only good news here is that Muhammad is already being tried for capital murder for his 2009 crime. Hopefully he will be convicted in quick order and will sooner, rather than later, have a date with a needle.

But we suspect that perhaps Muhammad is not so ready to go to paradise to meet his 72 virgins and is dangling this tidbit in hopes of getting some sort of leverage for leniency:

“If you agree not to seek the death penalty, I will tell you all about this other guy I killed.”

We hope his ruse does not work, though we realize that it may be several years before he meets the executioner.

What really bothers us though is the media seem to be bending over backwards to avoid investigating this guy’s activity. He converted to Islam and flew to Yemen for training and then came back and started killing Americans (and tried to set fire to a Nashville rabbi’s home with a Molotov cocktail).

Yet we see no press curiosity as to who approached him to convert to Islam in the first place, how he was recruited to Jihad or how he got to Yemen and back…

What happened to investigative journalism? Why isn’t someone going to the mosque at Tennessee Tech where he converted to ask a few questions? What turned Carlos Bledsoe into a monster named Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad? Was he a member of the Muslim Students Association? Who else from that mosque went to Yemen? If Bledsoe was involved with the MSA, what, if any, role did that group, or some of its members, play in his transformation to Islamic Jihadist?

Why isn’t anyone asking these questions?

By terrortrends | Also posted in Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, Carlos Bledsoe, Homegrown Jihad, Islam, Jihad, Sudden Jihad Syndrome, Terrorist attack | Comments (7)

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Reported to Be Close to Launching Terror Attack

1 MarpmSat, 26 Mar 2011 18:37:59 -06002011-03-26T18:37:59-06:0006 2009 – 18:37

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen may be close to launching a terrorist attack, according to US intelligence agencies…

The threat from AQAP comes as counterterrorism operations in Yemen have evidently been interrupted by mass demonstrations against the 32-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

US officials have articulated worries that the unrest sweeping the Arab world could hinder counterterrorism efforts.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1628871.php/Report-Al-Qaeda-branch-in-Yemen-planning-terror-strikes-US-says

By terrortrends | Also posted in Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) | Comments (0)

Little Rock Jihadi Shooter Tried To Firebomb Nashville Rabbi’s Home

1 AugpmSat, 07 Aug 2010 14:47:54 -06002010-08-07T14:47:54-06:0002 2009 – 14:47

Abdulhakim Mohammed, previously known as Carlos Bledsoe before his conversion to Islam in 2004, who is charged with murdering one US Army soldier and wounding another outside a Little Rock armed forces recruiting center last summer, now says he tried but failed to carry out additional Jihadist terror attacks in the southern U.S.

This revelation came in a report filed in July by an Arkansas state doctor who examined Mohammed, declaring him mentally fit to stand trial.
Mohammed claims to have tried to use a Molotov Cocktail to firebomb the home of an Orthodox rabbi in Nashville, Tennessee.
He also claims to have plotted an attack on a US Army recruiting center in Florence, Kentucky, but didn’t–only because it was closed when he got there.
Mohammed has been charged in Arkansas with capital murder, attempted capital murder, aggravated assault,terroristic threatening
as well as other counts for the June 1, 2009, shooting outside the Little Rock recruiting office.
Terror Trends Bulleting covered that story here:
https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2009/06/06/purple-hearts-for-the-two-soldiers-shot-by-the-little-rock-jihadist/

Mohammed has a history of violence and, sometime after his conversion to Islam, he started to consider himself a soldier of allah.

He was reportedly angry about the actions of US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. He believed they had desecrated the Quran and sought revenge.
One of his targets was a house in Nashville, where he thought an Orthodox Jewish rabbi lived. It turns out that the rabbi had moved out of the house a year earlier and, at any rate, the Molotov Cocktail that Mohammad threw at one of the windows failed to break the glass and set fire to the house.
This botched Nashville firebombing was actually the first phase in a three state Jihad tour that ended when he shot the two Army soldiers in Little Rock, killing Pvt. William Long and wounding Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula.
Until the Arkansas court released the medical report recently, the former Tennessee State University student’s botched Nashville firebomb attack and aborted assault on the Florence, Kentucky, Army recruiting station were not public knowledge.
The rabbi targeted was Rabbi Saul Strosberg, who says he doesn’t know why he was a target, having never met Mohammed.
“The fact that it made sense in his mind to kill a rabbi is just nuts,” he said.
We are frankly incredulous at the good rabbi’s naivete. It wasn’t that Mohammed was “nuts” at all. He is a Jihadist who went to Yemen for terrorist training and he was merely doing what he had been trained to do.
That is the reality and we all better wake up to that fact.
Mohammed has told the court he wants to plead guilty, but he can’t under state law because he faces the death penalty.
A Memphis native, Mohammed moved to Yemen in 2007 supposedly to teach English and became involved with Jihadist terrorists. While in Yemen he was arrested for trying to go to Somalia to fight in the Jihad there, was jailed for a short time and then deported to the United States in 2009.
Why he was allowed to roam free back here in the USA after having tried to join the Jihad is a question worth asking…
“This was a Jihadi attack on the infidel forces. That didn’t go as planned,” Mohammed wrote in a letter to the court.

By terrortrends | Also posted in Failed terrorist attack, Homegrown Jihad, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Jihad, Somalia, Terrorist attack | Comments (0)

Al Qaeda Launches Online English-Language Magazine

1 JulpmFri, 02 Jul 2010 18:58:19 -06002010-07-02T18:58:19-06:0006 2009 – 18:58

Inspire: The New Al Qaeda Online English-Language Magazine

Al Qaeda posted an online propaganda magazine in English on Tuesday, a move that could help the terror group recruit inside the United States and Europe.

The magazine, called Inspire, is being run by Al-Qaeda  in Yemen, which continues to play a prominent role in the Jihadist group’s global activities.

It is easy to snicker at these efforts, but they must be taken seriously. Language which may seem corny or trite to regular Americans can have deep motivational meanings for young Muslims who are already predisposed to Jihad. And clearly America has a serious domestic Jihad problem with arrests and incidents becoming more numerous in the past year, from Boston and New York to Fort Hood and Little Rock, from North Carolina to California and from Oregon and Colorado to Georgia and Florida.

The Jihadists have already had great success in infiltrating our homeland. They recognize this and the new magazine “Inspire” is designed to cultivate those already successful efforts. This is not something to be taken lightly…

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/07/al-qaida_launches_english_prop.html

By terrortrends | Also posted in Al Qaeda, Homegrown Jihad, Jihad | Comments (0)

U.S. Computer Engineer and Accountant Charged With Helping Al Qaeda

1 MayamSun, 02 May 2010 07:22:10 -06002010-05-02T07:22:10-06:0007 2009 – 07:22

Some folks believe that poverty is the root cause of Jihad.

If that is so, then how do they explain a computer engineer and an accountant, formerly employees of Wall Street’s Lehman Brothers and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, going Jihadi and helping Al Qaeda, including by purchasing watches commonly used in making bombs?

Wesam El-Hanafi, 33, and Sabirhan Hasanoff, 34, are both American citizens who attended New York public schools and Baruch College in New York.

They appeared to be normal, middle class Americans with good educations and bright futures.

Unfortunately, back in 2008 they decided to take an oath of allegiance to Al Qaeda…and so the story begins…read more at UPI.com:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/01/2-US-men-charged-with-aiding-al-Qaida/UPI-98511272748539/

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Al Qaeda, Homegrown Jihad, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Jihad | Comments (0)

Denver Post Sees No Dots to Connect in Article About Anwar Al-Awlaki

1 AprpmSun, 11 Apr 2010 14:45:49 -06002010-04-11T14:45:49-06:0002 2009 – 14:45

Maybe I am being overly dramatic, but the article linked below from the Denver Post reminds me of all the Germans who claimed they had nothing to do with the Nazis when Allied troops moved in to occupy Germany in 1945.

Isn’t it just a tad odd that this guy Anwar Al-Awlaki, who has become an Al Qaeda terrorist mastermind, made no impression at all in his time in Colorado?

No one at the mosques he preached at seems to even remember anything about the guy–except the members who either didn’t like him or never heard him say anything bad or who don’t want their names revealed that is…

Then there’s the statement in the article that all Al-Awlaki’s files had been disposed of 8 years ago. It’s too bad that Bruce Finley of the Denver Post isn’t more curious because 8 years ago is about when Al-Awlaki had been ID’d by the FBI as an Al Qaeda recruiter and fled the country.

Muslim cleric targeted by U.S. made little impression during Colorado years

http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_14861059?source=commented-news

But there IS more to Al-Awlaki’s time at the Denver mosque than many people remember. I wrote about it a couple of months ago for a blog down in Louisiana…

http://thehayride.com/2010/02/chris-jacksons-terrorist-mentors/

SOMEONE was saying some things in that Denver mosque that crossed over the line…but no one remembers, and those files got thrown out years ago…

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Al Qaeda, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Homegrown Jihad, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Jihad | Comments (0)