[Marine_Uncle]

"From the MSNBC story, this looks to me like like one particular tribe trying for working an angle for massive Ransom Monies....now I ask...where is Al-Queda?"
Perhaps heading for easier target rich environments where they can set up a safer effective base operation.

[reformedliberal]

My only sources are the media, so, FWIW, I have been reading that the AQ are in/heading to Afghanistan.