I got a little more info on this story by reading this version in La Repubblica :
Al Qaeda, announces on the web "We have nuclear bombs"
Rome -"We're informing the Islamic Nation that the production and enrichment of uranium, in reference to making nuclear bombs, are no longer the monopoly of the Crusaders and tyrants of the world. Our attempts to create small bombs with great destructive power have been successful." The alarming announcement is contained in a communication signed by Al Qaeda on the Internet on a new Islamic forum. The document, that carries the date of two days ago, is directed in particular to the American people.
The site containing the new threat attributed to Al Qaeda was found by the agency Adnkronos International. The announcement on the atomic bomb is confirmed by other information of Al Qaeda that should serve to corroborate its credibility.
"Know that we at Al Qaeda," as you read in the document, "we will respond with painful action to your refusal to accept the advice that was offered by Sheikh Osama bin Laden in his last speech in which he asked you not to elect the foolish Bush at the last election. Now, we say that this refusal will cost you the divine wrath. And Allah will choose you as the first target that will be hit in the heart of America."
The message is published on a new Islamic forum titled "Jihad Forum From The Lions Den", and it opens with verse 60 on The Spoils of War from the Koran. The official notice concludes with a note in which it advises that the chosen methods to disseminate this document are out of the ordinary and completely exceptional.
____________________________
Also an excerpt from another La Repubblica story:
"Bush Will Pay For Iraq"
The terrorist remembers, in the end, that "for each action there is a reaction" and says that Al Qaeda will fight the United States "until their forces go bankrupt."
BTTT!
Much more information with your translation.
"We're informing the Islamic Nation that the production and enrichment of uranium, in reference to making nuclear bombs, are no longer the monopoly of the Crusaders and tyrants of the world. Our attempts to create small bombs with great destructive power have been successful."
No idea on the credibility, but if it is, then the use of the phrase "enrichment of uranium" is key. My limited understanding is that the easiest, low-tech way to do that is with centrifuges. That takes space. Unlike bio or chem, a double-wide won't do.
I don't see how they could do that by themselves in their current position. If they had a "base" (like they did in Sudan and Afghanistan) then it is possible they could equip the manufacturing process through Khan or the black market. But our strategy (Bush Doctrine) of denying them nations from which to base makes this unlikely in the current environment.
So assuming the allusion to uranium is credible (and they could just be spouting as that has been in the news of late), it means they are waiting on or have just received delivery from a supplier as they cannot enrich uranium themselves undetected like ricin or anthrax.
The list of realistic suspect sources you can put on one hand and have fingers left over. Either it is a non-state actor (black market dealer such as Khan), or a state that is willing to risk that play. There are many bad nations, but not many who enrich uranium. And most of those would not risk giving nuclear material to a group than is hell-bent on destroying an American city. Only a rogue terror nation would bet the house on that kind of play.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html
Our nation will continue to be steadfast and patient and persistent in the pursuit of two great objectives. First, we will shut down terrorist camps, disrupt terrorist plans, and bring terrorists to justice. And, second, we must prevent the terrorists and regimes who seek chemical, biological or nuclear weapons from threatening the United States and the world. . . .
Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction. Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since September the 11th. But we know their true nature.
North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens. Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom. Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade. This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens -- leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children. This is a regime that agreed to international inspections -- then kicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world.
States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic.
We will work closely with our coalition to deny terrorists and their state sponsors the materials, technology, and expertise to make and deliver weapons of mass destruction. We will develop and deploy effective missile defenses to protect America and our allies from sudden attack. And all nations should know: America will do what is necessary to ensure our nation's security.
We'll be deliberate, yet time is not on our side. I will not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as peril draws closer and closer. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons. Our war on terror is well begun, but it is only begun. This campaign may not be finished on our watch -- yet it must be and it will be waged on our watch. We can't stop short. If we stop now -- leaving terror camps intact and terror states unchecked -- our sense of security would be false and temporary. History has called America and our allies to action, and it is both our responsibility and our privilege to fight freedom's fight.