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06 May 2011 10:07

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World: Note from al-Qaeda: Osama bin Laden dead, but we’ll retaliate

  • Soon — with help from Allah — their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears.
  • A message reportedly from al-Qaeda • Revealing that Osama bin Laden is dead (on their end), and that retaliation was likely in the cards. The statement was posted on notable jihadist forums this morning, and SITE Intelligence Group translated it. “We will not deviate from that or change until Allah judges between us and between our enemy with truth,” the note continues. “Indeed, He is the best of all judges. Nothing will harm us after that, until we see either victory and success and conquest and empowerment, or we die trying.” So, to those doubting Bin Laden’s death: So there’s this. source

03 May 2011 09:15

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U.S., World: White House’s John Brennan: We can take out al-Qaeda now

  • We’re going to try to take advantage of this opportunity we have now with the death of al Qaeda’s leader, bin Laden, to ensure that we’re able to destroy that organization. We’re determined to do so and we believe we can.
  • White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan • Sounding a little boasty by saying that the next plan, post-Bin Laden, is to basically take down all of al-Qaeda. “We believe that we have damaged the organization, degraded its capability and made it much more difficult for it to operate inside of Pakistan as well as beyond,” he continued. Do you guys think he’s right, or just on a bit of a high right now? source

25 Apr 2011 13:43

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U.S.: Parsing Wikileaks’ trove of Gitmo detainee files

  • The U.S. has a pretty low threshold for proof when it comes to tossing somebody in Guantanamo Bay, at least that’s what seems true when you read the latest files revealed by Wikileaks. As reported by The Guardian, the U.S. government targeted people wearing a certain type of Casio wristwatch (the F-91W) for detention, because that model of wristwatch was known for its use and distribution by al-Qaeda for training in bomb-making. More than fifty of the released detainee files list the cheap, digital timepiece as a point of interest.
  • No exception for age Two early detainees, an 89-year-old and 70-year-old, sound like they never should’ve been there. U.S. doctors described the former as suffering from major depression, senility and dementia, while the latter authorities internally assessed had no real reason for their detainment at Guantanamo Bay.
  • No exception for youth Naqib Ullah was one of the youngest detainees, at just 14 when he spent a year in confinement. Authorities ultimately decided he was telling the truth when he insisted he’d been kidnapped by the Taliban — his file claims to want to “afford him an opportunity to ‘grow out’ of the radical extremism he has been subject to.” source

09 Mar 2011 14:40

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World: Grim deathtoll in wake of Taliban’s funeral sneak attack

  • 36+ killed in a suicide bombing by the Pakistani Taliban source
  • » And at a funeral, no less. A teenager reportedly detonated himself while pretending to attend a Pakistani funeral service, which was being held by an anti-Taliban group in the country’s northwest. The funeral’s proximity to the Taliban and al-Qaeda’s safe havens within Pakistan made it a natural target. Our deepest condolences to all those killed in this most horrible attack.

24 Feb 2011 10:15

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World: Gaddafi blames Libyan unrest on al-Qaeda, youths, drugs

  • It is obvious now that this issue is run by al-Qaeda. … No one above the age of 20 would actually take part in these events. They are taking advantage of the young age of these people [to commit violent acts] because they are not legally liable.
  • Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi • Making the argument that a bunch of kids, goaded by al-Qaeda, are behind the attacks on his country. He also said that many were under the influence of drugs. Like Gaddafi has anywhere to speak about the drugs thing. No totally sober guy would be as weird as Gaddafi is. source

26 Nov 2010 15:55

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World: Saudi Arabia arrests dozens of suspected terrorists in raid

  • 149 number of people the Saudis arrested on terrorism charges
  • 124 number of Saudi nationals among the 149 people arrested
  • 19 number of al-Qaeda terror cells who had members arrested
  • $600k amount of money Saudi police found among the terror cells source

21 Nov 2010 10:44

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World: Terrorists’ latest plot fiscally responsible, apparently

  • $4,200 cost of the recent cargo bomb plot source
 

06 Nov 2010 13:21

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World: Yemeni Judge orders terror suspect Anwar al-Awlaki’s arrest

If you happen to be this guy, Yemen’s police are on their way to arrest you for alleged terror ties to al-Qaeda. By. Any. Means. Possible. source

06 Nov 2010 11:08

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World: Beyond package bombs, al-Qaeda takes credit for random Dubai crash

  • claim On top of taking credit for the package bombs last week, al-Qaeda claims they were behind a UPS plane bombing in Dubai back in September.
  • denial United Arab Emirates officials claim that there was no explosion in that crash, which killed two pilots and probably destroyed quite a few care packages. source

31 Oct 2010 10:18

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World: Cargo plane bomb plot: Lots of packages under scrutiny

  • 24 more suspect packages currently getting analyzed in Yemen source
  • » About the suspects: Two Yemeni women, 22-year old Hanan al-Samawi and her 45-year-old mother, have reportedly been arrested for the incident. Also, bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, whose handiwork first came to everyone’s attention thanks to the Underwear Bomber, is also considered a suspect in the latest incident. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, planes from Yemen can’t directly enter the U.S. in the wake of the Underwear Bomber incident. Which is why the suspicious device was caught in London instead of Chicago.