Free Republic

The US attorney general has acknowledged four US citizens were killed in drone strikes since 2011. The US specifically targeted and killed Anwar al-Awlaki, Eric Holder wrote in a letter to the Senate judiciary panel. Awlaki's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman, Samir Khan and Jude Mohammad were "not specifically targeted by the US". The disclosure of the killings in Yemen and Pakistan marks the first formal public acknowledgement of the US citizen deaths in drone strikes. "The president has directed me to disclose certain information that until now has been properly classified," Mr Holder wrote. 'Continuing threat' America's top law enforcement official...

One day before President Obama is due to deliver a major speech on national security, his administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged that the United States had killed four American citizens in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. In a letter to Congressional leaders obtained by The New York Times, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. disclosed that the administration had deliberately killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen. The American responsibility for Mr. Awlaki’s death has been widely reported, but the administration had until now refused to confirm...

Since 2010, al-Qaeda has apparently been publishing an English-speaking magazine called Inspire meant to attract Muslims into extremism and teach them how to wreak massive amounts of violence onto innocent people. “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom” reads one of the headlines. At first, Americans laughed at Inspire and didn’t think anyone would take it seriously. But then we realized just how powerful this propaganda could be considering the relationship the average Muslim has with the American people these days. Wired’s Spencer Ackerman described the purpose of Inspire as “getting frustrated Muslim youth to buy into al-Qaeda’s...

To borrow a line from Dennis Green, they are who we thought they were. From his hospital bed, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has acknowledged his role in planting the explosives near the marathon finish line on April 15, the officials said. The first successful large-scale bombing in the post-Sept. 11, 2001, era, the Boston attack killed three people and wounded more than 250 others.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation, said Dzhokhar and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed by police as the two attempted to avoid capture, do not appear to have been...

How a U.S. Citizen Came to Be in America’s Cross Hairs By MARK MAZZETTI, CHARLIE SAVAGE and SCOTT SHANE WASHINGTON — One morning in late September 2011, a group of American drones took off from an airstrip the C.I.A. had built in the remote southern expanse of Saudi Arabia. The drones crossed the border into Yemen, and were soon hovering over a group of trucks clustered in a desert patch of Jawf Province, a region of the impoverished country once renowned for breeding Arabian horses. A group of men who had just finished breakfast scrambled to get to their trucks....

How to Become a Drone Target

Breaking news banner only WIll put link up once its live

Its hero and editor are dead, but the al-Qaida magazine, Inspire, continues to do just that. According to the complaint filed in federal district court in New York, Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, a student from Bangladesh arrested Wednesday and charged with trying to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in ManhattanÂ’s Financial District, was the latest Islamist militant to try to follow the example of the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and the English-language magazine, Inspire, created in his honor. Quazi Nafis, who came to the United States last January on a student visa, had big...

SNIPPET: "New York City is the center of a public uproar as Internet blogger Pamela Gellar rises with an “anti-jihad” ad campaign." SNIPPET: "Gellar and her group are protesting the Jihad, which in definition is the religious duty of Muslims. According to the Dictionary of Islam, jihad is defined as “A religious war with those who are unbelievers in the mission of Muhammad . . . enjoined especially for the purpose of advancing Islam and repelling evil from Muslims.” The literal meaning of jihad, according to the British Broadcasting Network, “is struggle or effort, and it means much more than...

Via the Jawa Report, the surreal postscript to Obama’s decision to target an American citizen. An official from the U.S. State Department has called the Charlotte family of al-Qaida propagandist Samir Khan to offer the government’s condolences on his death in a U.S. drone attack last week in Yemen, according to a family spokesman. “They were very apologetic (for not calling the family sooner) and offered condolences,” Jibril Hough said about the Thursday call from the State Department to Khan’s father, Zafar. The phone call came a day after the family released a statement through Hough that condemned the “assassination”...

Obama’s State Department (run by Hillary Clinton) has contacted the family of al-Qaeda propagandist and recruiter Samir Khan to “express its condolences” to his family. Samir Khan a right hand man to Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed along with his jihadist buddy in an air strike in Yemen that took place on September 30.

An official from the U.S. State Department has called the Charlotte family of al-Qaida propagandist Samir Khan to offer the government's condolences on his death in a U.S. drone attack last week in Yemen, according to a family spokesman. "They were very apologetic (for not calling the family sooner) and offered condolences," Jibril Hough said about the Thursday call from the State Department to Khan's father, Zafar. The phone call came a day after the family released a statement through Hough that condemned the "assassination" of their 25-year-old son - a U.S. citizen - and said they were "appalled" that...

http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/007413.html "Whither the jihadi forums?" SNIPPET: "There are currently only three jihadi forums that are sufficiently active and well-connected to be of any interest whatsoever. Why we claim to be on the verge of defeating al-Qaida while simultaneously watching passively as they use these forums to regroup and regenerate is beyond me. These are the forums three: • al-Fidaa, a forum created by al-Qaida core. That it is directly linked to al-Qaida by definition moves it to the top of the list. Current membership: 2,462, all of whom can be considered "active" if only because they just joined the forum....

NOTE The following text is a quote: July 16, 2010 TG-779 Treasury Designates Anwar Al-Aulaqi, Key Leader of Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula Treasury Targets al-Qa'ida Leader with Ties to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Anwar al-Aulaqi, a key leader for al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a Yemen-based terrorist group. Aulaqi was designated pursuant to Executive Order 13224 for supporting acts of terrorism and for acting for or on behalf of AQAP. Since its inception in January 2009, AQAP has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks against Saudi, Korean, Yemeni and...

A publisher of an online terror magazine who grew up in Queens and wrote about his pride of being a "traitor" to America was among those killed in Yemen Friday, officials said. Samir Khan was killed along with the American-born al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was questioned for his ties to 9/11 and was said to have inspired both the Fort Dix, N.J., and Times Square terror plots. Khan was reportedly born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Queens. He recently lived in North Carolina and edited a jihadi internet magazine.Al-Awlaki was targeted in the killing, but Khan apparently was...

Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, after raising suspicions at a Killeen, Texas, gun shop where he purchased six pounds of gunpowder and several boxes of shotgun shells, was in police custody in Killeen on Thursday, accused of plotting to kill fellow soldiers in a frightening reprise of the November 2009 massacre at Fort Hood. Abdo, 21, who grew up in Garland outside of Dallas, was close to pulling off a "terror plot" in which the intended target was troops based at Fort Hood, said Killeen Police Chief Dennis Baldwin. "We would probably be here today giving you a different briefing had...

Better examine your next cupcake: British intelligence agents hack al-Qaida's Inspire magazine and replace bombmaking instructions with cupcake recipe.

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...

"They're Baaaack: British Terror Supporters Re-launch al-Muhajiroun, Dedicated to "Raising Flag of Islam over Downing Street"" SNIPPET: "A group of terror supporters in the UK have relaunched an organization dedicated banning criticism of Islam, beheading "blasphemers", and killing adulterers. The new and improved al-Muhajiroun will once again be led by Anjem Choudary, chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers. The organization was originally founded by Omar Bakri Muhammad who was recently convicted in absentia by a Lebanese court of helping train al Qaeda's local affiliate. He has also been banned from reentering the UK. The group disbanded after a conference...

First exploded a car at the busy shopping street Drottninggatan in central Stockholm. Then came another explosion some distance away and one man died. According to news agency TT, the man had blown himself to death. There was a bag on the ground filled with nails, according to newspaper Expressen. Alarm calls poured in to the Emergency Services from concerned residents about the explosions in central Stockholm on Saturday afternoon. But the initial info from the police was extremely unclear. First there was talk of two cars that exploded, later it proved to be just one... At Bryggargatan a man...

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.

"HE HAZ ISSUES WIT TEH WIMMINZ Of course a lot of the brothers have issues with women." SNIPPET: "What makes Salim Abebe (AKA Salim Abdullatif) interesting is that this apparently-Kenyan individual is a friend of admitted al-Qaida activist Samir Khan."

The second edition of an online al Qaeda magazine has surfaced with frank essays, creatively designed imagery and ominous terror tips such as using a pickup truck as a weapon and shooting up a crowded restaurant in Washington. The magazine is called "Inspire" and intelligence officials believe that an American citizen named Samir Khan now living in Yemen, is the driving force behind the publication. The latest edition was published on the 10th anniversary of the suicide attack on the USS Cole -- struck as it refueled in Aden, Yemen. The first edition came out in July. An article entitled...

Back in 2007 I linked to Rusty at The Jawa Report who had been investigating an American blogger named Samir Khan and his ties to al-Qaeda: Michael Moss of the New York Times has outted Inshallashaheed, the al Qaeda supporting blogger who we've been investigating for over a year. I've been sitting on his true identity for months, but in one fell swoop Samir ibn Zafar Khan, who lives in Charlotte North Carolina, has been identified. Thats how long ago this guy was identified. Remember that, but for now Rusty gives some of the back story here: Samir Khan...

SNIPPET - quote: October 11, 2010 North Carolina Muslim Admits Working with al Qaeda: "Proud to be an American Traitor" [Full text] ****Jawa Report Exclusive**** I think we can quit with the speculation about where he went and why Update by Rusty: The full text of Khan's story can be found at the end of this post. (Excerpt) Read more at mypetjawa.mu.nu ...

Photo: http://media.npr.org/assets/news/2010/10/07/terror01.jpg?t=1286576500 Photo caption: "Adnan Shukrijumah (clockwise from left), Anwar al-Awlaki, Yousef al-Khattab and Samir Khan." SNIPPET: "The list of American terrorists is growing, and they are coming from the unlikeliest of places: Miramar, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Brooklyn; Albuquerque; and Winchester, Calif." SNIPPET: "One, Adnan Shukrijumah, was born in Saudi Arabia, reared in Trinidad and came of age in Florida. He is now considered one of Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenants. Samir Khan is a North Carolina man thought to have edited and created a new English-language magazine for al-Qaida’s arm in Yemen. Yousef al-Khattab was the founder of Revolution...

SNIPPET: "SUE MYRICK, R 9th District includes parts of Gaston, Mecklenburg and Union counties. Home: Charlotte. Term: Eighth. Top committees: Intelligence, Energy and Commerce . Vote ranking: 34th most conservative member of the House, according to National Journal." SNIPPET: "The record: She's a vocal opponent of taxes, spending and illegal immigration, with a voting record to match. Last year she introduced the "10k Run for the Border Act", which would have upped penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. This year she chided President Obama for opposing Arizona's tough immigration law. In January, the House passed her amendment to...

SNIPPET: "Republican U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick warned a Huntersville audience Tuesday about the dangers of "homegrown terrorism" and new Iranian inroads into the Americas." SNIPPET: ""I'm extremely concerned about Iran and the situation in the Middle East," she said. "People don't want to face the fact that we have terrorist organizations operating in this hemisphere and this country." Myrick, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said she's disturbed by reported activities in this hemisphere by the Lebanese-based Islamic group Hezbollah, seen by many as an Iranian proxy. Myrick repeated what she wrote in a June 23 letter to Homeland...

SNIPPET: "A jihadist blogger accused of running an online how-to guide for Al Qaeda could be charged with terrorism very soon, sources say. A federal grand jury has started reviewing evidence against Samir Khan..." SNIPPET: "The grand jury is now deliberating whether there is enough evidence to charge Khan with "material support to a terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit murder overseas," sources close to the case told NPR....

If al-Qaida looks and sounds different as we approach 9/11's ninth anniversary, it's because it's under new American management. No fewer than four U.S. citizens and a permanent U.S. resident have risen to senior leadership posts. These five English-speaking leaders are actively planning or facilitating attacks against their countrymen, while recruiting and radicalizing other American turncoats to carry them out. By remaking itself into an American enterprise, al-Qaida is now more lethal than ever. Its new generation of leaders understands the way America works, having lived here for decades. They have a better sense of our security blind spots. They...

06 April 2010 "WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT THERE BEING A GENUINE AMERICAN AL-QAIDA MOVEMENT?[1]" SNIPPET: "They write in English and their websites have RSS feeds, that's what. Reduces our overhead, improves our cash flow - thanks guys!"

War On Terror: In three short years, Samir Khan went from blogging about jihad from his parents' North Carolina basement to editing al-Qaida's new online magazine in Yemen — all under the FBI radar. The 24-year-old Khan is now helping America's Enemy No. 1 recruit Muslims to kill fellow Americans as Webmaster of al-Qaida's splashy new propaganda organ, which provides instructions in English on how to "make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom."And the FBI and U.S. intelligence never saw it coming. The Khan case is the latest example of a disturbing trend in U.S. intelligence lapses involving...

(CNN) -- A senior U.S. law enforcement official has told CNN that U.S. intelligence believes the principal author of the new online al Qaeda magazine is an American citizen who left for Yemen in October 2009. The magazine -- called "Inspire" -- appeared last week. Running to nearly 70 pages online, it included articles on bomb-making and encrypting electronic messages, as well as an interview with fugitive Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al Awlaki.

NOTE: The following SNIPPET is a quote: DON'T OPEN THAT FILE, MEMET! With much fanfare, al-Malahim, the media arm of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, announced the imminent release of — and then subsequently did release — what they claimed was the first official English-language al-Qaida magazine. It's called "Inspire" as in "Inspire the Believers" (as opposed to the Quranic edict to Incite the Believers. They did this with the full cooperation of the administrators of the al-Faloja forum in particular. Interestingly, the first couple of pages of the document appear perfectly normal. Then things get weird...

SNIPPET: "Praise Allah and cross-reference with AQ-USA, Revolution Muslim, Samir Khan, etc."

28 May 2010 "THAI TAWHID WAL JIHAD" SNIPPET: "Operator identifies with Samir Khan in his "about" page, but I don't get the impression he actually knows Samir, just that he was inspired by or agrees with things Samir has said in various interviews."

31 December 2009 “LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN” SNIPPET: “There is overlap in space if not in time between NW 253 bomber Abdulmutallab and various unsavory characters and websites. Perhaps it’s just a case of like-minded people moving through similar places at similar times in their lives, but then again, maybe Abdulmutallab came into contact with some of these people, particularly in what appears to be his critical period of radicalization in London circa 2005-2007. At this point all I have are suspicions and some interesting data points to share.”

Note: Videos included at link. “Out With Brother Yousef, in with Abdullah as-Sayf Jones”

SNIPPET: "Whatever the number is, at some point you must assume that the people admitting online that they wish to emulate the 9/11 conspirators represent a larger pool of people who not only wish this, but who are at some stage of the process leading to "martyrdom". I'm not saying Google's lax policies in policing this kind of file filth will lead directly to another 9/11 style attack. But it is clear that one of the common denominators between all -- and I mean all -- homegrown jihadis is that they like to spend their free time watching these types...

Al-Fursan Media:: Jihad Recollections no. 4 - <<9/11 SPECIAL>> “The men behind 9/11 and the motives that bound them” September 12, 2009 Posted by admin in : Al-Fursan Media, Books, Jiha�d, Knowledge , trackback

SNIPPET: "How Did the Posting of the Photos Actually Play Out? 1. At some point in July 2009, International Red Cross delegates photographed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his nephew, Ammar al-Baluchi. These photos were taken as part of a service that the ICRC has provided to at least the 107 detainees at Guantanamo who opted in. The service includes provide their families with photographed evidence that the detainee is alive and not being mistreated. 2. Specifically, each detainee selects their two favorite poses and print copies of those photographs along with a note from the ICRC are transmitted by the...

August 20, 2009 "The Sick Fanatics at Islamic Awakening Make the News" SNIPPET: "And this is shocking how?" SNIPPET: "Just for our notes, this is also the same site where America's #1 al-Qaeda supporting blogger Samir Khan AKA Inshallahshaheed posted the announcement of the return of his blog and the new issue of the al-Qaeda supporting magazine Jihad recollections. OK are you upset yet? If not lets continue, especially if you live in the UK."

"The document 'Jihad Recollections - Issue # 3' has been deleted"

"Islamic death threat targets U.S. radio host 'We will see his fat rotting torso dumped on the side of the road or in some swamp'" Posted: May 27, 2009 3:24 pm Eastern JERUSALEM – SNIPPET: "The author of the online threat apparently confused Humphries for Rusty Shackleford, the pseudonym used by the proprietor of the popular My Pet JAWA Report website, which focuses on exposing online support of Islamic terrorism." SNIPPET: "Threats tied to pro-al-Qaida website? The registrar information for the "Jew Report" blog with the threat against Humphries is currently private. The author of the blog identifies himself as...

Note: Video included. # Ignored Puzzle Pieces Takes Next Step… This morning, American jihadist website, Ignored Puzzle Pieces of Knowledge, posted an old video of a guy who armored a bulldozer and went wreaking havoc in a small town. He destroyed buildings, cars and basically anything in his way. Here’s how the admin (presumably Sammy) captioned this video: “This guy caused over $7 million in damage in a small town. Imagine if he were to do something like this in NYC?” Now, work with me here. We’ve got an American-made website that is dedicated to praising al-Qaida and espousing its...

A New Pro Al-Qaeda Magazine for Extremists is Offering Fitness Tips to JihadistsA new pro al-Qaeda magazine for extremists is offering fitness tips to jihadists planning attacks against Americans in countries such as Afghanistan. The first edition out this month offers workout tips to get buff with the aim "to train as hard as possible in order to damage the enemies of Allah as much as possible." The English language e-zine, Jihad Recollections, is about 70 pages long and is thought to be produced by an American living in North Carolina. It claims to have articles written by Osama bin...

"This is the very first English Jihadi Magazine aimed at the laymen, students of knowledge, political activists, intellectuals and scholars of the Ummah. It will seek to educate the Ummah on a monthly basis as to the latest happenings in fields related to Politics, Society, Economy, Technology etc. as well as educate the Muslims on the worldview of the Jihadi current. This magazine will serve as a platform for the English speaking Muslim Community to discuss their ideas, differences and thoughts on various issues related to the Islamic world and the hot issues which many stay silent on."

06 March 2009 WILL MCCANTS OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED AN INFIDEL His Holiness Sheikh Samir Khan, the most learnéd cleric of Charlotte, North Carolina, has officially acknowledged Will McCants as a Kafir in good standing:

American Muslims Justify, Equivocate Mumbai Massacre [UPDATED, Bumped] Samir Khan emerges from his parents' house in Charlotte, NC Our nemesis Samir Khan [aka, "inshallahshaheed"] over at the "Ignored Puzzle Pieces of Knowledge" is talking about the Mumbai massacre over at this blog. I don't think long time readers will be shocked that he offers no words of condemnation. Only equivocation and justification. The crux of his argument is the same used by Salafist extremists of his ilk in their routine justification of al Qaeda and Taliban attacks on civilians: okay, so, you people kill innocent Muslims all the time. Classic...

SNIPPET: "Rusty Shackelford, PhD., credits Samir Khan with the first report of the arrest of Abu Sayaba, proprietor of the "iskandrani" blog, by the FBI in Boston. This corresponds to the arrest of Tarek Mehanna, age 26, on charges of lying to FBI agents when questioned two years ago about his friend and now-convicted terrorist Daniel Joseph Maldonado. Mehanna was about to leave the USA for Saudi Arabia, which evidently prompted the unsealing of his indictment." (Read More...)