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A Saudi linguist convicted of sexually assaulting a housekeeper and keeping her a virtual slave for four years won a 20-year reduction in his prison sentence Friday, and his defence attorneys hope it means he'll be released from prison soon. District Judge J. Mark Hannen sentenced Homaidan al-Turki to between eight years and life in prison during a hearing Friday in Centennial. Hannen cited al-Turki's good behaviour in prison in cutting the sentence from its original 28 years to life. ... Al-Turki insists he is innocent and a victim of anti-Muslim sentiment. His case has angered Saudi authorities — several...

With the recent death of Usama bin Laden, the life of another Al Qaeda-linked radical Muslim cleric is taking on greater significance, and documents obtained exclusively by Fox News and its Specials Unit shed new light on his stint as a guest speaker at the Pentagon just months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the first American on the CIA’s kill or capture list, is still considered a grave threat to U.S. national security. He now is hiding out in Yemen, where earlier this month a U.S. missile attack tried to kill him and his followers....

U.S. Drone Strike in Yemen Reportedly Was Aimed at Radical Cleric Seen as Post-Bin Laden Threat Published May 06, 2011 | The Wall Street Journal A U.S. drone strike in Yemen on Thursday was aimed at killing Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric who is suspected of orchestrating terrorist attacks on the U.S, but the missile missed its target, Yemeni and U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal. The drone strike comes less than a week after U.S. Navy SEALs killed Usama bin Laden at a compound in Pakistan. Had the drone strike in Yemen been successful, the U.S. would...

While Americans were feeling relief and a shot of national pride this week after the death of Osama bin Laden, the counterterrorism community had already turned the page. Al-Qaida has branches around the world and leaders in waiting. Al-Qaida's future might very well center on a man who is most often described as a "homegrown extremist" and who had dethroned bin Laden as the No. 1 terrorism threat to the United States months before bin Laden took a bullet to the head in a compound in Pakistan on Sunday. Anwar al-Awlaki has often been called the "bin Laden of the...

While the world’s attention is focused on the combat transpiring in Libya and the events in Egypt and Bahrain, Yemen has also descended into crisis. The country is deeply split over its support for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and this profound divide has also extended to the most powerful institutions in the country — the military and the tribes — with some factions calling for Saleh to relinquish power and others supporting him. The tense standoff in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa has served to divert attention (and security forces) from other parts of the country. On March 28,...

Al Qaeda's most influential English-language preacher said revolts sweeping the Arab world would help rather than harm its cause by giving Islamists freed from tyranny greater scope to speak out. Western and Arab officials say the example set by young Arabs seeking peaceful political change is a counterweight to al-Qaeda's push for violent militancy and weakens its argument that democracy and Islam are incompatible. But al Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, in an article published online on Tuesday, said the removal of anti-Islamist autocrats meant Islamic fighters and scholars were now freer to discuss and organize. ... AQAP military leader Qasim...

SNIPPET: "An examination of online activities by binyamine leads to the conclusion that he is likely involved with Dar al-Murabiteen, and that he links multiple terrorist networks together through his work translating, transcribing, and distributing jihadi media content. He is linked, in no particular order, to • Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan • The Pakistan and Afghan Taliban • as-Sahab, al-Emara, and al-Malahem media outfits • al-Shabaab and their al-Qimmah forum This is what Granovetter meant by a bridging weak tie - the kind of "weak" tie that is strong, as he links multiple networks. Among other things, all this...

You might think that a top terrorist targeted for assassination by the Obama administration would be on the FBI’s list of “Most Wanted Terrorists.” You might think he would be under indictment by the Department of Justice, which has a penchant for prosecuting war criminals in civil court. But in the case of Anwar al-Awlaki, leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), you’d be wrong. United States counterterrorism officials agree that Awlaki, a dual U.S.-Yemeni citizen, is one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists. Attorney General Eric Holder says Awlaki is right up there with Osama bin Laden. It...

In the bookstore I run, I used to carry lectures on CD by Anwar al-Awlaki. That's the pre-radical al-Awlaki, who recorded lectures about prophets and the hereafter and Islam in general. Now, that al-Awlaki is gone and has been replaced by a terrorist who publicly justifies killing American civilians. ...I was most worried about what the public, the authorities, and other Muslims would think. On the other hand, by removing the CDs I was censoring, and censorship is, generally speaking, a bad thing. I asked a retired bookseller friend what she thought... She recalled that when her store was open...

When one considers all of the people and places in the West targeted by transnational jihadists over the past few years, iconic targets such as New York’s Times Square, the London Metro and the Eiffel Tower come to mind. There are also certain target sets such as airlines and subways that jihadists focus on more than others. Upon careful reflection, however, it is hard to find any target set that has been more of a magnet for transnational jihadist ire over the past year than the small group of cartoonists and newspapers involved in the Mohammed cartoon controversy. Every year...

The attempted Christmas Day underwear bombing of Northwest Flight 253 may have Iranian fingerprints, but those are dots the Obama administration doesn't want to connect. Iran and al Qaeda have made mutual war on America in Yemen before. In November 2008, Western security officials intercepted a letter signed by bin Laden deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri thanking Iran for its "vision" in helping al Qaeda establish a foothold in Yemen after being routed from Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The terror leader praised Tehran for its "monetary and infrastructure assistance" related to a September 2008 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen's capital...

An Indiana grandmother who married a suspected German jihadist and converted to the Muslim religion is under investigation for possible ties to terrorists, according to FoxNews.com . Kathie Smith, 46, is a U.S. citizen and lives in Indianapolis.

An Al Qaeda leader, the head of a designated terror organization and a confessed jihadist-in-training are among a "Who's Who" of controversial figures who have participated in weekly prayer sessions on Capitol Hill since the 2001 terror attacks, an investigation by FoxNews.com reveals. The Congressional Muslim Staff Association (CMSA) has held weekly Friday Jummah prayers for more than a decade, and guest preachers are often invited to lead the service. The group held prayers informally for about eight years before gaining official status in 2006 under the sponsorship of Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., one of two Muslims currently serving in...

War On Terror: The most dangerous terrorist has a much-deserved bull's-eye on his back, but the ACLU is trying to remove it. The group's defense of Anwar al-Awlaki is its most subversive move yet. A fugitive al-Qaida leader on the CIA hit list, Awlaki has been fingered as the mastermind behind the FedEx bomb plot, as well as last Christmas' airline bomb plot. He's best known for mentoring the Fort Hood terrorist and some of the 9/11 hijackers. "He has involved himself in every aspect of the supply chain of terrorism — fundraising for terrorist groups, recruiting and training operatives,...

In a new video message posted on a jihadist Web forum on Monday, Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric based in Yemen whose most inflammatory sermons were withdrawn from YouTube last week, said that the killing of Americans by Muslims requires no special sanction. According to The Associated Press, Mr. Awlaki told jihadists in his latest, Arabic-language video: “Don’t consult with anybody in killing the Americans, fighting the devil doesn’t require consultation or prayers seeking divine guidance. They are the party of the devils.” Despite the fact that he was born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, and educated in both...

U.S.-born Yemeni cleric calls for killing of Americans in new video message Cairo— The Associated Press Published Monday, Nov. 08, 2010 7:26AM EST Last updated Monday, Nov. 08, 2010 7:30AM ESTcomments called for the killing of Americans in a new video message posted on radical web sites Monday. Anwar al-Awlaki said Americans are from the “party of devils” and so don't require any special religious permission to kill. In the 23-minute Arabic language message entitled “Make it known and clear to mankind,” al-Awlaki said it was “either them or us.” He also called all Arab and Yemeni leaders “corrupt” and...

(CNN) -- SNIPPET: "The charge centers around a one-way ticket that authorities allege Abdel Hameed Shehadeh purchased from Queens, New York, to Islamabad, Pakistan. Shehadeh originally told investigators that the purpose of his trip was to visit an Islamic university and attend a friend's engagement party. But he later admitted to FBI agents in Hawaii that he bought the ticket in order to join a fighting group such as the Taliban, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in New York Monday."

Islamic preacher Anwar al-Awlaki has compiled a long list, that shows Muslims how they can support the jihad. If you scroll through the list, you will see that Muslims do not have to be violent to take part in the jihad. Number 30 is particularly disturbing, but not surprising. Sheikh Anwar Al awlaki_-_44_Ways_To_Support_Jihad

Al Qaeda's American mouthpiece Saturday urged wannabe terrorists in a new video to act alone instead of trying to join cells attempting 9/11-type spectacular strikes. Californian Adam Gadahn urged individual violent jihad in a 40-minute tape, which endorsed an Al Qaeda ally's call last week for sympathizers to mimic the Ft. Hood killings and attempted bombings over Detroit last Christmas and in Times Square in May. "My brothers: know that Jihad is your duty," Gadahn ranted in Arabic. "You have an opportunity to strike the leaders of unbelief and retaliate against them on their own soil."

NOTE The following text is a quote: Virginia Man Accused of Providing Material Support to Terrorists ALEXANDRIA, VA—Zachary Adam Chesser, 20, of Fairfax County, Va., was arrested today on charges that he provided material support to al Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after Chesser was arrested and the charging documents were made public. “This case exposes the disturbing reality that extreme radicalization can happen anywhere, including Northern Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney...