| Arabia |
| Orange Man confirms bomb maker and terrorist Ibrahim al-Asiri is Tango Uniform |
| 2019-10-11 |
| Link |
| Arabia |
| Al Qaeda's master bomb maker may be dead, UN says |
| 2018-08-17 |
 [CNN] The al Qaeda bomb master behind a 2009 attempt to blow up an airliner over bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... on Christmas Day may have been killed, according to a UN team that tracks terrorist groups. The UN report says that Ibrahim al-Asiri, long regarded as one of the most dangerous terrorist operatives in circulation, may have been killed in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... last year. "Since mid-2017, the organization has suffered losses of leadership and field commanders owing to extensive Yemeni and international counter-terrorist operations," said a June report by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. "Some Member States report that explosives expert Ibrahim al-Asiri ... may have been killed during the second half of 2017. Given al-Asiri's past role in plots against aviation, this would represent a serious blow to operational capability." The UN report gave no indication of how al-Asiri died or who may have been responsible and is the only public indication of his possible death. But multiple US officials in different parts of the government tell CNN they are weighing evidence that al-Asiri is dead. |
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| Home Front: WoT | ||||
| Underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab sues over treatment in federal prison | ||||
| 2017-10-24 | ||||
[FREEP] The man known as the underwear bomber
... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... -bound plane on Christmas day eight years ago with a bomb hidden in his underclothing
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigeria native
It was filed last week in federal court in Colorado against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Joe Does 1 through 20. Spokespeople for the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the case. Abdulmutallab is serving four life prison terms in Florence, Colo., the highest-security prison in the country. He tried to detonate a bomb on a flight carrying more than 300 people, but his plan was foiled when passengers and crew members overcame him on Dec. 25, 2009, as the plane flew over Woodhaven as it approached Metro Airport. The incident caused burns to Abdulmutallab's genitals and legs. | ||||
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| US Official: Top Bomb-Maker Hit In Syria Strikes |
| 2014-11-07 |
| [Ynet] French murderous Moslem working as Khorasan Group's head bomb-maker was target of US strikes on Syria, which also hit Nusra fighters. American It wasn't certain whether the bomb-maker, French murderous Moslem David Drugeon, was killed or injured, but the officials said the strikes hit their intended targets near Sarmada, in the country's northwest. The officials were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the Central Command commander in charge of US military operations throughout the Middle East, said separately at a Washington forum that he would not discuss results of the strikes until they had been more fully studied. He suggested, however, the Drugeon may have been hit, or at least targeted. "He is clearly one of the leadership elements and one of the most dangerous elements in that organization," Austin said. "And so any time we can take their leadership out, it's a good thing." One of the US officials said Drugeon's bomb-making skills were nearly as worrisome as those of Ibrahim al-Asiri, a member of al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate who has built three nonmetallic devices that were smuggled onto US-bound jet liners. None detonated. Drudgeon, a convert to Islam believed to be 24, spent three years fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistain before coming to Syria in late 2012 or early 2014, US officials have said. In Gay Paree, the French interior minister refused to confirm reports Drudgeon was killed or injured. At the Pentagon, Army Col. Steve Warren said the strikes hit five targets at two locations. Noting that reports coming out of the region suggest members of other murderous Moslem groups were hit, Warren that the Khorasan Group was the pre-planned target of the strikes. The Khorasan Group, he said, "is a group of personnel, some of whom are also al-Nusra ...the current nom de guerre of al-Qaeda in the Levant, which isn't to be confused with al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant... affiliated, some of whom are al Qaeda affiliated, some of whom are affiliated with other organizations. But these strikes weren't specifically targeting any of those other organizations. They were targeting the Khorasan group. If a terrorist happens to be a member of both groups, so be it." Austin said none of the ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... The targets included bomb-making facilities, training areas and meeting locations. US officials say the Khorasan Group is made up of al Qaeda veterans of wars in Afghanistan and Pakistain who traveled to Syria to link up with the Nusra Front fighters. Officials say the group has been actively planning attacks against the West. When Warren said the US believes the latest strikes had a degrading effect because both facilities and individuals were destroyed. |
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| International-UN-NGOs | |
| Who Are the Khorasan? | |
| 2014-09-25 | |
The Khorasan group is one of al-Qaida’s affiliates in Syria and possibly one of the most secretive organizations operating under the cover of Syria's civil war. Unlike many of the other groups in Syria that seek to overthrow President Bashar Assad, or the Islamic State, Khorasan has expressed little interest in the Syrian national conflict. The group’s main goal: hitting the United States or its installations overseas with a terror attack. The chief U.S. military spokesman at the Pentagon, Rear Admiral John Kirby, said Khorasan became a prime target of the airstrikes Tuesday inside Syria after intelligence operatives uncovered plans for an “imminent” terror attack against Western interests. “We believe the individuals plotting and planning it were eliminated” in eight U.S. airstrikes overnight, Kirby said in an American television interview. During a later news briefing, Pentagon officials said the airstrikes were "very successful," but that it was too early to confirm the full extent of the damage and casualties inflicted on the militants. In contrast to the much larger Islamic State group, Khorasan members keep a low profile in social media. Their videos and Internet postings generally do not depict identifiable Westerners in their ranks, even though Khorasan is said to have attracted the second-largest contingent of foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war, after the Islamic State. Khorasan's leader is Muhsin al-Fadhli, once believed to have had a very close relationship with Osama bin Laden. He is 33-years-old and was born in Kuwait. He spent much of his life in Iran, though, where he reportedly directed al-Qaida’s Iranian branch after the terror network's former leader in Iran, Yasin al-Suri, was detained. Al-Suri eventually was released and returned to his position in charge of al-Qaida in Iran. Fadhli then was reassigned, reputedly to Syria, where he is believed to still reside. Terrorism experts claim Khorasan is made up of al-Qaida members from across the Middle East, South Asia and Europe, with a majority coming from Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria. But the group also has been able to recruit Europeans and Americans who came to Syria to fight with other jihadist groups. “Their focus seems to be on recruiting Western jihadis who are coming to Syria to fight, and equipping them with bomb-making techniques to be able to carry out terrorist attacks on the West,” said Craig Larkin of Kings College in London. A chief concern is the group’s leading bomb designer in Yemen, Ibrahim al-Asiri, whom the U.S. has targeted with drones, so far without success. Saudi-born al-Asiri has for years been high on America's most-wanted list, and is believed to have been involved in attempts to bring down trans-Atlantic flights. Analysts said he used his skills as a chemist to devise ways to conceal explosives - the best known being the unsuccessful 2009 attempt to bring down a commercial flight from Europe to Detroit, carried out by an al-Qaida member who became known as "the underwear bomber." In another failed attack attributed to al-Asiri, British bomb disposal experts intercepted a shipment of printer ink cartridges that had been packed with plastic explosives. Some of the designs attributed to the bomb designer sound like the stuff of science fiction, such as having explosives implanted in the human body. One of al-Asiri's most imaginative and ruthless attacks was a suicide plot in Saudi Arabia in 2009. The master explosives-maker used his willing younger brother, Abdullah, for this attack, an assassination attempt against a Saudi prince. Abdullah was carrying a bomb on his body - reputedly hidden in his rectum - that was detonated when the target drew near. The explosives detonated as planned, but Abdullah was the only fatality. | |
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| Terror Networks | |
| Al Qaeda's quiet plan to outdo ISIS and hit U.S. | |
| 2014-09-20 | |
Great Britannia raised its national terror threat level, and the FBI is tracking American jihadists who may return home. Sources say it's due to the emerging threat in Syria, where hardened holy warriors loyal to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri are working on new, hard-to-detect bombs. In testimony Wednesday, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Matt Olsen -- who warned that U.S. agencies are unable to effectively track Western jihadists inside Syria -- seemed to make a vague reference to the threat. "In Syria, we've seen veteran al Qaeda gunnies travel from Pakistain to take advantage of the permissive environment there," said Olsen. Sources confirm that the al Qaeda cell goes by the name "Khorasan." Unlike ISIS, which is believed at present to be largely engulfed in its fight for territory. Khorasan is developing fresh plots to target U.S. aviation, and it's trying to recruit Westerners who have flocked to the fight in Syria, some of whom have joined the al Qaeda franchise in the country, known as the al-Nusra Front. The fear is that U.S. and European passport holders could more easily smuggle explosives onto airplanes. Sources tell CBS News the group includes technicians trained by al Qaeda's master bomb-builder, Ibrahim al-Asiri. The Yemen-based Asiri built the infamous but ultimately unsuccessful underwear bombs and two cargo bombs concealed in printer cartridges. He is considered one of the most innovative bomb-builders in the jihadist world, and he's still operating freely. At the moment, U.S. officials say there is no specific, credible threat to the homeland. But as information about Khorasan becomes available, it's clear that al Qaeda remains obsessed with bombs, airplanes, and attacking the United States. | |
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| Arabia |
| Unsettling video shows large al Qaeda meeting in Yemen |
| 2014-04-16 |
| [CNN] A new video shows what looks like the largest and most dangerous gathering of al Qaeda in years. And the CIA and the Pentagon either didn't know about it or couldn't get a drone there in time to strike. In the middle of the clip, the man known as al Qaeda's crown prince, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, appears brazenly out in the open, greeting followers in Yemen. Al-Wuhayshi, the No. 2 leader of al Qaeda globally and the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has said he wants to attack the United States. The video started appearing on jihadist websites recently, drawing the attention of U.S. officials and global terrorism experts. U.S. officials say they believe it's authentic. The video shows al-Wuhayshi addressing more than 100 fighters somewhere within Yemen, a restive nation on the southwestern portion of the Arabian Peninsula, said Paul Cruickshank, CNN terrorism analyst. U.S. officials believe the highly produced video is recent. With some fighters faces blurred, there is worry it signals a new round of plotting. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as AQAP, is considered the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate. The CIA and the Pentagon have repeatedly killed AQAP leaders with drone strikes. But the group is now emboldened. "The main problem about this group is that it has a bomb maker who can put bombs on to planes that can't be detected," Bergen said. That bomb maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, is believed to be responsible for several attack attempts against the United States, including the failed 2009 Christmas Day underwear bomber attack in bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang.... |
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| Terror Networks |
| Who are the world's 10 most dangerous terrorists? |
| 2013-10-10 |
| [Shabelle] 1. Ayman al-  Zawahiri... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit.Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... Despite the whittling away by drone attacks of "al Qaeda central" in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistain, the group's leader remains vocal and active in trying to harness the disparate affiliates that claim the al Qaeda name. Source: al Qaeda leader urged affiliate to 'do something' Since former leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... 's death in 2011, al-Zawahiri has sought to take advantage of the unrest sweeping the Arab world, and has recognized that groups such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are better placed to carry out attacks than the ever-diminishing core that remains in "Af-Pak." At times, al-Zawahiri has struggled to exercise authority over groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq, not least because of the difficulty in communicating with far-flung offshoots. Aware that pulling off another 9/11 is a remote possibility, al-Zawahiri has suggested a shift to less ambitious and less expensive but highly disruptive attacks on "soft" targets, as well as hostage-taking. In an audio message in August he recommended taking "the citizens of the countries that are participating in the invasion of Musselmen countries as hostages." Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor who is now 62, is not the inspirational figure to jihadists that bin Laden was, but he is trying to fashion a role as the CEO of a sprawling enterprise. According to the Economist, he may be succeeding. "From Somalia to Syria, al-Qaeda franchises and jihadist fellow travellers now control more territory, and can call on more fighters, than at any time since Osama bin Laden created the organization 25 years ago," it wrote this month. Reward offered by the U.S. government for his capture: up to $25 million How effective are terror watch lists? First woman added to FBI terror list Terrorists spreading ideology on Twitter 2. Nasir al Wuhayshi For someone thought to be about 36 years old, al Wuhayshi's terror resumé is already extensive. Once bin Laden's private secretary in Afghanistan, he returned to his native Yemen and ended up in jail. But not for long: He and several other al Qaeda operatives dug their way out in 2006. He went on to to help found al Qaeda in Yemen, and began launching attacks on Yemeni security services and foreign tourists, as well as directing an ambitious attack against the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. He is now the emir of AQAP, widely regarded as the most dangerous and active of al Qaeda's many offshoots. A slight figure with an impish sense of humor, according to some who have met him, al Wuhayshi appears to have been anointed al Qaeda's overall deputy leader in a bold move by al-Zawahiri to leverage the capabilities of AQAP. Seth Jones, a Rand Corporation analyst, called the appointment "unprecedented because he's living in Yemen, he's not living in Pakistain." If al-Zawahiri is al Qaeda's CEO, al Wuhayshi appears to be its COO -- with responsibilities that extend far beyond Yemen. It appears that in 2012 he was already giving operational advice to al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa. Despite a concerted effort by the Yemeni government and the United States to behead AQAP, al Wuhayshi survives, and his fighters have recently gone on the offensive again in southern Yemen. The group is bent on exporting terror to the West -- both through bomb plots and by dispatching Western converts home to sow carnage. 3. Ibrahim al Asiri Not a household name, but one that provokes plenty of anxiety among Western intelligence agencies. Al Asiri, a 31-year-old Saudi, is AQAP's master bomb-maker, as expert as he is ruthless. He is widely thought to have designed the "underwear" bomb that nearly brought down a U.S. airliner over bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... on Christmas Day 2009, as well as the ingenious printer bombs sent as freight from Sanaa, Yemen, and destined for the United States before being intercepted thanks to a Saudi tip-off. The bombs were so well hidden that at first British police were unable to find one device even after isolating the printer. Al Asiri also fitted his younger brother Abduillah with a bomb hidden in his rectum in an effort to kill Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's counter-terrorism chief, Mohammed bin Nayef. The brother died in the attack; bin Nayef survived. His trademark explosive is PETN -- a white, odorless powder than cannot be detected by most X-ray machines. Al Asiri is thought to be somewhere in the vast mountainous interior of southern Yemen. The anxiety among Saudi and Western intelligence officials is that he has passed on his expertise to apprentices. 4. Ahmed Abdi Godane Godane, aka Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, became the leader of the Somali group Al-Shabaab  ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... at the end of 2008. Traditionally, Al-Shabaab has been focused on bringing Islamic rule to Somalia, and as such has attracted dozens of ethnic Somalis (and a few Western coverts) from the United States and Europe. But Godane appears to be refocusing the group on terrorist attacks beyond Somalia, against the east African states that are supporting the Somali government -- especially Uganda and Kenya -- and against Western interests in east Africa. The Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi September 21 was Al-Shabaab's most audacious, but not its first nor most deadly outside Somalia. In 2010, Al-Shabaab carried out suicide kabooms in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in which more than 70 people were killed. But the Westgate siege, which left 67 people dead, demonstrated Godane's desire to align his group more closely with al Qaeda. In a taped message afterward, he noted the attack took place "just 10 days after the anniversary date of the blessed 9/11 operations." Under Godane, Al-Shabaab has become a formal ally of al Qaeda. That has led to dissent, which Godane has dealt with ruthlessly, using his control of Al-Shabaab's intelligence wing. The American jihadist Omar Hammami was killed in September after criticizing Godane's leadership and his treatment of imported muscle. Godane is said to be 36 years old, and is originally from Somaliland in northern Somalia. He is slim to the point of wispy, as seen in the very few photographs of him, and prefers recording audio messages to appearing in public. After the Westgate attack, Kenyan and Western intelligence agencies will undoubtedly step up efforts to end his reign of terror. But he should not be underestimated. A former Somali prime minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, once described Godane as the cleverest of Al-Shabaab's leaders. The U.S. government's Rewards for Justice program lists him under another alias, Ahmed Abdi Aw-Mohammed, and is offering up to $7 million for information leading to his location. 5. Moktar Belmoktar Belmoktar is Algerian but based in the endless expanse of desert known as the Sahel. Like many on this list, he has an uncanny knack for survival against the odds. A year ago, he probably would not have been counted among the world's most dangerous terrorists. Then he announced the formation of an elite unit called "Those Who Sign With Blood," which he said would be the shield against the "invading enemy." A short time later, his fighters launched an attack on the In Amenas gas plant in southern Algeria. A three-day siege left nearly 40 foreign workers dead. Since then, Belmoktar's fighters have launched attacks on a military academy and French uranium mine in Niger in May, despite losing much of their freedom of movement after the French intervention in Mali in January. Belmoktar is unusual in combining jihadist credentials with a lucrative business in smuggling and kidnapping. He is often called "Mr. Marlboro" because of his illicit cigarette trafficking, and is thought to have amassed millions of dollars through ransoms for westerners kidnapped in Mali. Intelligence officials have told CNN that he has also developed contacts with jihadist groups in Libya as instability has gripped the country in the wake of Muammar Qadaffy ... who had more funny outfits than Louis XIV... 's overthrow. Born in 1972, Belmoktar grew up in poverty in southern Algeria. He traveled to Afghanistan in 1991 in his late teens to fight its then-Communist government, and returned to Algeria as a hardened fighter with a new nickname "Belaouar" -- the "one-eyed" -- after a battlefield injury. He later joined forces with the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in its brutal campaign against the Algerian regime. Reward offered by the U.S. government: up to $5 million for information leading to his location. 6. Abu Muhammad al Julani While Belmoktar might have been on the fringes of a "most dangerous terrorist list" a year ago, Abu Muhammad al Julani would not have been anywhere near it. But as Syria has descended into a state of civil war, al Julani's group -- the al-Nusra Front -- has emerged as one of the most effective rebel factions. Formed in January 2012, it is a jihadist group with perhaps 10,000 fighters, many of them battle-hardened in Iraq. It has specialized in suicide kabooms and IED attacks against regime forces, and its success has attracted hundreds of fighters from other rebel groups. Al Julani personally pledged his group's allegiance to al-Zawahiri in April, and the U.S. State Department has branded al-Nusra as part of the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State in Iraq. In May, the United States added al Julani to to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Al-Nusra has so far not shown any inclination to take the fight to Western targets. Andrew Parker, the head of the British intelligence agency MI5, thinks that will change. "A growing proportion of our casework now has some link to Syria... Al-Nusra and other myrmidon Sunni groups there aligned with al Qaeda aspire to attack Western countries," he said in a speech in London this week. Of al Julani himself, very little is known. Al-Nusra places a premium on organizational security. Even his nationality is unclear, but he is thought to have had experience as an bad boy in Iraq. A recent study by the Quilliam Foundation in London concluded his leadership of the group was "uncontested." "Sources tell us that his face is always covered in meetings, even with other leaders. Al Julani is thought to be a Syrian jihadist with suspected close ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq," the study's authors said. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. missile strike in 2006. 7. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi One factor that may influence the growth and potency of al-Nusra is its relationship with fellow jihadists in Iraq. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) was publicly at odds with al Julani over the regional pecking order earlier this year, asserting that al-Nusra was part of his group, a claim swiftly rejected by al Julani. Western intelligence would like nothing more than dissent between these two groups. Close cooperation between them across the long Syrian-Iraqi border -- the goal of al-Zawahiri -- is the nightmare scenario. On the battlefield in Syria, cooperation between the two groups appears to be continuing, especially in towns like Deir Izzor in eastern Syria. Inside Iraq, al Baghdadi has overseen a dramatic spike in terror attacks against the Shia-dominated state and security apparatus, aided by jail breaks and bank robberies. It has also claimed devastating kabooms against Shia civilians and is open about carrying out attacks on purely sectarian grounds. It claimed credit for a wave of boom-mobileings in Storied Baghdad on September 30, in which more than 50 people were killed, calling it a "new page in the series of destructive blows" against Shiite areas in Iraq. The monthly number of civilian deaths in Iraq, according to the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... , is now at its highest since 2008. Al Baghdadi benefits from fertile ground in that Iraq's Sunni minority is increasingly fearful of the Shia-dominated government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Sunni tribes straddle the Syrian-Iraqi border, adding to a combustible regional picture. Born in Samarra, al Baghdadi is in his early 40s. In a eulogy for bin Laden, he threatened violent retribution for his killing. Analysts regard ISIS as a greater threat now than at any time since the U.S. "surge" and the emergence of the Sunni Awakening Councils six years ago, which then turned the tide against al Qaeda in Iraq. Reward offered by U.S. government, which lists him as Abu Du'a: up to $10 million for information leading to his location. 8. Sirajudin Haqqani Shifting from the Middle East to the Afghan-Pakistain border regions, several groups are positioning themselves for the exit of U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan next year. Among the most dangerous is the Haqqani Network, responsible for some of the deadly attacks in Kabul in recent years. A 2008 coordinated suicide kaboom on the Serena Hotel in Kabul left six dead. Another strike in June 2011 killed 12 at the InterContinental Hotel. U.S. officials say that in addition to its high-profile suicide kabooms against hotels and other civilian targets in the Afghan capital, it is responsible for killing and wounding more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Siraj Haqqani is the son of the group's founder, and is in his early 40s. "Siraj is a brutal criminal murderer," Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, the outgoing commander of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in eastern Afghanistan, told the publication Jane's in 2009. Jeffrey Dressler, a senior analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, told CNN last year that Haqqani is "very, very competent, a very capable leader who has really grown the network over the past five, six years." U.S. officials say the Haqqani Network is all the more dangerous in that its presence in the tribal territories of Pakistain is tolerated by the Pak government. The family belongs to the Zadran tribe, which spans the Afghanistan-Pakistain border and stretches to Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... . The Haqqanis have a close relationship with both al Qaeda and the Taliban, but are also thought to have begun recruiting Chechen and Turkish jihadists. The B.O. regime designated the Haqqani Network a terror group last year. It is regarded as well-funded because of a series of legitimate and illicit businesses that stretch to the Gulf. Reward offered by U.S. government for information leading to Haqqani's location: up to $5 million 9. Abubakar Shekau Shekau's inclusion recognizes the growing tide of Islamist militancy in West Africa. For the last four years, he has led Boko Haram, a Salafist group in northern Nigeria that has begun cooperating with other groups as far away as Mali. But its main focus remains churches and other Christian targets, the police and the moderate Moslem establishment in northern Nigeria. Just last month, suspected Boko Haram fighters broke into a college in Yobe state and murdered more than 40 students as they slept. In 2010, Shekau warned that the group would attack Western interests and the following year it carried out its first suicide kaboom -- against U.N. offices in the capital, Abuja -- killing at least 23 people. The group has also kidnapped and killed several Western hostages. While Bokko Haram is not an affiliate of al Qaeda, Shekau has made clear his sympathy for the group's goals. The United States made him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in June 2012. Two caveats here: there are conflicting reports that Shekau was killed in an August raid by Nigerian special forces. But a video that appeared weeks later purported to show he was still alive. And Boko Haram's leadership structure is opaque at best; it's unclear how much control Shekau himself exerts over its fighters. John Campbell, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, wrote last month that so far "Boko Haram has shown little interest in the world outside of Nigeria and the Sahel. But the situation in Nigeria is dynamic, and it is possible that closer ties will develop between al-Qaeda and elements of Boko Haram." "Boko Haram" means "Western education is forbidden" and reflects the group's utter rejection of modernity and Western influences. "Hostile to democracy, modern science, and Western education as non-Islamic, it is highly diffuse," Campbell said of the group. "For some adherents, religious, even apocalyptic, themes appear to be paramount." Reward offered by the U.S. government: up to $7 million for his location. 10. Doku Umarov ... Self-styled first emir of the Caucasus Emirate. Count Doku has announced that his forces will not target civilians, but qualified that statement by saying there aren't any civilians in Russia... Doku Umarov leads the Caucasus Emirate (CE), a Chechen group dedicated to bringing Islamic rule to much of southern Russia. The U.S. State Department named Umarov a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2010, and said subsequently he was "encouraging followers to commit violent acts against CE's declared enemies, which include the United States as well as Israel, Russia, and the United Kingdom." U.S. officials have been investigating whether the Tsarnaev brothers -- who were blamed for carrying out the bombing at the Boston Marathon in April -- had any links with Chechen bully boy groups. But nothing has surfaced connecting them with CE. And the group's main focus has been on attacking Russian institutions and civilian targets. In January 2011, it bombed Moscow's Domodedovo airport, killing 36 people, and suicide kabooms of Moscow subway stations in 2010 killed 40 people. Umarov was born in southern Chechnya in 1964, according to Chechen websites, and describes his family as part of the "intelligentsia." He came of age as the separatist campaign against Russian rule began to take root and joined the insurgency when then-Russian leader Boris Yeltsin sent troops into the region in 1994. In a proclamation published on a Chechen jihadist website in 2007, he declared, "It was my destiny to lead the Jihad... I will lead and organize Jihad according to the understanding, given to me by Allah." Reward offered by the U.S. government for information on his location: up to $5 million. |
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| Terror Networks |
| Brits Concerned: Breast Implant Explosives Could Be Used In Terrorist Attack |
| 2013-08-17 |
 [Telegraph] Heathrow Airport staff have been warned that women could conceal dangerous explosives in their breasts.Al-Qaeda's chief bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri is thought to have developed explosives that can be concealed in implants or bodily cavities and escape detection from airport scanners, according to The Mirror. One staff member said: "There are genuine fears over this. We have been told to pay particular attention to females who may have concealed hidden explosives in their breasts. This is particularly difficult for us to pick up but we are on a very high state of alert. "It's led to long queues here at Heathrow -- much longer than usual at this time of the year. But because it's the summer holiday season, no one has complained." According to Philip Baum, editor of Security International, body scanners are good at identify objects outside the body but not inside and the "possibility of medically implanted explosives is a concern to the industry." Explosives expert Andy Oppenheimer said: "There is a great fear that al-Qaeda are planning on using internal devices to try and get through airport scanners. These explosives could be in breast implants." Another specialist, who asked not to be named, said breast implant bombs could be set off by injecting another liquid. The expert added: "Both are very difficult to pick up with current technology and they are petrified al-Qaeda are a step ahead here. It's pretty top secret and potentially very grisly and ghastly." Independent security analyst Paul Beaver said: "There are currently deeply serious concerns over body cavities and implants of all kinds -- including breast implants -- being used to hide explosives. It is taking longer to get through Heathrow and other airports in Europe and North America because of these fears. They are taking longer to screen people and there is definitely some sort of profiling going on. "The general alert state remains the same in the UK but overseas, the recent Pakistan prison breakouts and foiled attacks in Yemen are raising fears of a new jihadist wave of violence." Mr Beaver added: "The terrorist is getting clever, but so are detection methods. The fact we know about the new methods suggests there are detection and counter-measure options. "Implant bombs are a one-way ticket anyway so the suicide bomber won't care what the trigger might be. It would have to be simple and straightforward -- perhaps electrical." A Heathrow Airport spokesman said: "We don't comment on specific security measures." |
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| Arabia |
| Drone Strike Reportedly Wounds Al Qaeda Master Bomb Maker |
| 2013-08-14 |
| [FREEBEACON] A Saudi national known to be a key al Qaeda bomb maker was maimed during a U.S.-led drone strike in Yemen, according to a Yemeni news report. Ibrahim al Asiri, the bomb maker, was targeted during a missile strike launched from a U.S.-operated armed drone in southern Yemen that killed two other al Qaeda terrorists, the online Yemeni news outlet Al Watan reported Sunday. A U.S. official had no public comment but urged caution regarding claims that al Asiri was dead. The drone attack took place in Yemen's southernmost Lahij Governorate that borders the Gulf of Aden. Covert, U.S. military-operated drones carried out the strike. The United States operates a drone base located in southern Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... According to the Al Watan report, photos of the drone strike victims showed one man whose facial features matched al Asiri, who was said to have been severely maimed. Al Asiri is one of the most wanted bully boyz and was behind at least two unsuccessful plots to blow up airliners. Al Watan quoted eyewitnesses as saying the drone strike Saturday was carried out against a passenger car that heard the drone and sought refuge under a bridge. However, the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... before the passengers could get out of the car, a missile struck the vehicle and destroyed it. After seeing that the missile had not hit the passengers, the drone fired three more missiles against four people who had fled from the car. Al Asiri is believed by U.S. officials to have been the criminal mastermind behind the bomb concealed in the underwear of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet on the way to bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... on Dec. 25, 2009. Abdulmutallab was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2012. Al Asiri also is suspected in the plot to blow up cargo planes using printer cartridges filled with plastic explosive in 2010. Al Asiri, a chemist by training, is also believed to have trained other members of the group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Saturday's drone strike followed an unprecedented public warning by the U.S. government that bully boyz were planning an attack on the United States. More than a dozen U.S. diplomatic outposts were temporarily closed amid concerns of a terrorist attack. No attacks have been carried out and current and former U.S. officials have said the terrorist threat may have been hyped by the B.O. regime for political purposes. A White House spokeswoman dismissed that claim as "insulting." U.S. officials were quoted in press reports as saying the threat of a coming attack was based on an intercepted communication between al Qaeda leader Aymen al Zawahiri... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit.Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... and the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Nasser al-Wuhaysi. London's Telegraph newspaper reported Saturday that Yemeni authorities have offered a reward of up to $23,000 for information on al Asiri and 24 other al Qaeda bully boyz in Yemen. |
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| Arabia | |||
| Al Qaeda 'developed liquid explosives which blow up when dry' | |||
| 2013-08-08 | |||
| Al Qaeda forces of Evil could try to bring down planes using an undetectable explosive soaked into their clothes, officials fear. The organization's bomb-makers are reportedly developing an 'ingenious' system whereby shirts and trousers drenched in the explosive could be ignited when dry. It would be undetectable under current security measures and remove the need for forces of Evil to mix liquid explosives on board, security sources told the American TV network ABC News. The latest threat to air passengers is one of the reasons behind the current global terror alert, according to two senior US government officials.
He said: 'The clothes act as a diluent and reduce the power of the explosives.' However, ars longa, vita brevis... igniting treated clothes could be done simply with a match. Passengers are allowed to carry a single box of safety matches or a cigarette lighter on flights.
Dozens of Al Qaeda operatives are said to have streamed into Sana'a in the past few days, forcing the country's military to use 'extraordinary and unprecedented' security measures to protect official buildings. At the same time, at least four suspected forces of Evil have been killed in an American drone strike in the eastern Marib region of Yemen. The drone fired a missile at a car carrying the four men, setting it on fire and killing all of them, the officials said. Speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media, the officials said they believe one of the dead is Saleh Jouti, a senior Al Qaeda member. It's the fourth drone attack in the past week to hit a car believed to be carrying Al Qaeda members. The BBC reports that Yemeni intelligence services discovered al-Qaeda members had arrived in the Yemeni capital Sanaa over the past few days ready to implement a large plot. It is said that that plot would include kabooms and suicide kabooms aimed at Western ambassadors and embassies. Yemen's interior ministry has sent armoured military vehicles to surround the presidential palace, and other important buildings. Western embassies in the capital of Sanaa are also being protected. | |||
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| Terror Networks |
| Report: Al-Qaida doctors trained to implant bombs in humans |
| 2012-05-14 |
| Western intelligence agencies believe that al-Qaida doctors have been trained to implant bombs inside the bodies of suicide bombers, Britain's Sunday Times reported. The doctors, thought to have been trained by a man who worked with the top bomb-maker for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), have the ability to put explosive compounds in breasts and abdomens of suicide bombers, the newspaper reported without citing its sources. The lead doctor was thought to have been killed in a drone attack earlier this year and likely worked with the master bomber-maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, according to the newspaper. |
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