Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) introduced a new English language magazine (Critical Threats website) on Sunday. In their first issue, American born cleric and partner Anwar al-Awlaki issued a fatwa against a Seattle cartoonist and others.
The magazine includes instructions on bomb-making from ingredients from "mom's kitchen". Al-Qaeda leader AQAP Nasser al Wahayshi, also known as Abu Basir, called on Muslims to pursue violent jihad against the West.
O Muslims, rise up in defense of your Messenger: a man with his knife, a man with his gun, a man with his rifle, a man with his bomb, by learning how to design explosive devices, by burning down forests and buildings, or by running over them with your cars and trucks. The means of harming them are many so seek assistance from Allah and do not be weak and you will find a way. The rights of the Messenger of Allah upon us are great and it is nothing for all of us to die for his sake; may our mothers be bereaved of us if we do not defend him.
O Muslims you have no excuse in front of Allah except if you fight in defense of his Messenger…
The purpose of the magazine appears to provide tools and encourage jihadists to take matters in their own hands right here in America rather than risk travel over to Yemen for training.
I found the above graphic of the Al Qaeda magizene from a blog by American graduate student, Christopher Anzalone, in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University. This "student" also has the first edition of the al Qaeda magazine, which I found very difficult to find. He links to the Muslim Brotherhood website and hadiths on violent jihad and so on. Hummm...
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The FBI says agents arrested Smadi after he placed what he thought was a bomb at the base of Fountain Place, a 60-story skyscraper located at 1445 Ross Avenue in downtown Dallas.
The FBI says undercover agents found out about Smadi's intent to commit violent attacks in Dallas. The FBI says agents tried to get him to change his mind about committing the attacks, but were unsuccessful....Agents say they arrested Smadi Thursday afternoon after he placed the dummy car bomb next to the building. The FBI says the public was never in any danger.
Andrieski/AP
The New York Daily reports today a dozen Muslim men are under constant FBI watch, including Najibullah Zazi of Aurora, Colorado. Zazi completed a 2nd day of questioning by the FBI in Denver yesterday. He was quiet with reporters on Thursday - a noticeable change from when he first was identified. Earlier this week agents carted away several boxes of documents in the search of his parents apartment.
While the interrogators focused on Zazi, authorities expanded their attention to include more potential suspects in a plot that raised concerns about the city's subway system.When the probe began this week, five Colorado men cited as members of the cell were under a round-the-clock watch.
By yesterday, police sources said, that number had risen to as many as 12. A half-dozen were reportedly in New York, where Zazi arrived for a visit last week.
The Homeland Security Department beefed up security in the nation's airports as a result of the Colorado-based probe, a senior official disclosed yesterday.
"Even a casual observer will notice a more visible presence of uniformed officers this week in the airports," the Homeland Security Department official told the Daily News.
The FBI asked Zazi to return for a 3rd day of questioning today. I would remiss not to mention that the FBI has not issued an official statement about this terror investigation so information is fluid and could be somewhat misleading. But, this is a serious investigation that prompted a nationwide alert.
Update 9//24/09: Najibullah Zazi indicted for plotting to use weapons of mass destruction!
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Red: Warnings
9/24/09: Najibullah Zazi indicted for plotting to use weapons of mass destruction!
9/22/09: Mass transit in U.S. on high alert
9/21/09: Al-Qaeda cell suspect arrested - more under survelliance!
9/18/09: 12 Muslims on constant FBI watch in possible al-Qaeda linked terror probe
9/15/09: FBI warns police departments across America: signs of homemade bombs
7/29/09: US enlists citizens in anti-terrorism strategy
2/24/09: Director of FBI warns of possible U.S. terror attacks
12/2/08: U.S. likely faces massive terror attack by 2013 government report states
CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, and moreFBI counter-terrorism officials are warning police departments across the country to be on the lookout for homemade bomb material based on an on-going investigation and search in New York City conducted early Monday morning. Over the weekend a man on the FBI radar visited some people in the city. That man, as it turns out, is a cab driver who lives in Denver. 9 News there reported investigators found a document about bomb-making that belonged to the unidentified man.
Lookout for people with burn marks on their hands, face or arms; foul odors coming from a room or building; and large industrial fans or multiple window fans. The warning, obtained by The Associated Press, also said that these homemade explosive materials can be hidden in backpacks, suitcases or plastic containers.
The notice was not intended for the public, said Justice Department spokesman Richard Kolko.
Update 8:03 PM CT: According to the New York Daily, the terror probe is focusing on a Denver cell plotting an attack the size of 9/11. Hundreds of FBI agents are on the ground in Denver with 24 hour surveillance of five suspects. This report is not being reported by other news media so beware.
Update 9/16/09 7:09 AM CT:
Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan national, is pictured above is the man from Denver, who actually lives in an apartment in SE Aurora, whom the FBI has focused on. He claims he is bewildered by it all. Some reports state he was in Pakistan training with al-Qaeda but he claimed it was to visit his wife.
Zazi claims he is not a terrorist and plans to hold a press conference today, according to the New York Daily News which also reported authorities seized the rental car he drove to New York, and found documents and papers about bomb-making and bombs.
Update 9/24/09: Najibullah Zazi indicted for plotting to use weapons of mass destruction!
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Its time for another reality check on our national security risks from the head of the FBI who spoke yesterday at the Council of Foreign Relations. This assessment appears not to speak well for the Religion of Peace followers and their ability to rein in Islamic extremists with their own Muslim community:
Photo credit FBI
"FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III today warned that extremists "with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons" to sow terror, raising the specter that recent attacks in Mumbai that killed 170 people last year could embolden terrorists seeking to attack U.S. cities.
"The universe of crime and terrorism stretches out infinitely before us, and we too are working to find what we believe to be out there but cannot always see," Mueller said.
One particular concern, the FBI director said, springs from the country's background as a "nation of immigrants." Federal officials worry about pockets of possible radicals among melting-pot communities in the United States such as Seattle, San Diego, Miami or New York.
A Joint Terrorism Task Force led by the FBI, for instance, continues to investigate a group in Minneapolis after one young man last fall flew to Somalia and became what authorities believe to be the first U.S. citizen to carry out a suicide bombing. As many as a half-dozen other youths from that community in Minnesota have vanished, alarming their parents and raising concerns among law enforcement officials that a dangerous recruiting network has operated under the radar..."
The United States can expect a terrorist attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, reports a bipartisan commission in a study being briefed Tuesday to Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
It suggests the Obama administration bolster efforts to counter and prepare for germ warfare by terrorists.
"The commission is also encouraging the new White House to appoint one official on the National Security Council to exclusively coordinate U.S. intelligence and foreign policy on combatting the spread of nuclear and biological weapons, per Fox News.
Full report preventwmd.gov
The New York Post is reporting that seven residents of New York City have received an invitation - to a bombing! This could very well be a sick hoax and police are investigating. It does seems to be more of a hoax rather than a serious threat because there isn't any reference to the Quran or Allah but you can never be sure:
NYPD detectives are investigating a chilling new terror threat - a series of cards from a "New York Jihad" that look like birthday-party invitations but warn of bombs in lower Manhattan this summer, The Post has learned.
The cards were mailed last week to the homes of seven city residents, including former Fox News television producer Kelley Vick and a person in the 26th Police Precinct, which covers West Harlem, according to Vick and police sources.
The card reads: "Bombs! Bombs! Bombs! Lower Manhattan. July, August, September. New York Jihad." Vick, a news producer who left Fox in early July, got the creepy mailing Thursday. She said it arrived at her Chelsea building but did not list her apartment number and had no return address. She went to police on Friday. "It says, 'You're invited to a party, so put on a happy face,' " she said. "There were faces of an elephant, a monkey, like cartoon animals. "Then you open the card, and inside is a piece of periwinkle paper and space for the date and time. That's where it says, 'Bombs! Bombs! Bombs!' in fancy type. "My name is printed on the envelope. The stamp is green with a heart. Everything about it is like a cute little party invitation. It's really weird." She said the postmark showed it had been sent Wednesday from Brooklyn.
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