You’d think, Al Qaeda, desperate, very desperate for anything that proves they are still viable would take credit. They want, need bragging rights to a successful operation to survive.
Maybe it's no longer their policy...and they prefer deep cover.
not if their decapitation strike is sitting in the white hut.
Their goal is destruction, regardless if it comes with publicity. For instance, ETA will make an announcement before they set off a bomb. AQ does not. ETA is trying to make a point and (currently)not necessarily trying to kill people (although they have). Where AQ wants to take down our way of life, that is their goal, economic and social destruction. Achieving their goals do not necessarily mean gaining attention.