al-Qaida « The Irate Nation

U.S. and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen

The U.S. and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen on Sunday in the face of al-Qaida threats, after both countries announced an increase in aid to the government to fight the terror group linked to the failed attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner on Christmas.

The confrontation with al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen has gained new urgency since the 23-year-old Nigerian accused in the attack, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told American investigators he received training and instructions from the group's operatives in Yemen. President Barack Obama said Saturday that the al-Qaida offshoot was behind the attempt.

The UK and US embassies in Yemen have been closed because of an active threat from al Qaeda.

The move comes after Britain and America said they would jointly fund a counter-terrorism unit in Yemen.

Sky's Kitty Logan reports.

By:skynews

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Al-Qaida in Yemen Threatened the United States

clipped from newsmax.com

An Al-Qaida operative in Yemen threatened the United States and said "we are carrying a bomb" in a video posted online four days before the botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight.

The video does not contain any clear evidence that the speaker was anticipating Friday's attempt, but it has attracted scrutiny because of reports that the bombing plot may have originated in Yemen.

The 23-year-old Nigerian man accused in the attack claimed he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives there, U.S. law enforcement officials said, and a key American lawmaker has said there are "strong suggestions" of a Yemen connection.

Ahmad Wais Afzali Pleads Not Guilty In Terror Plot

clipped from www.foxnews.com

An imam accused of lying to FBI agents investigating an alleged bomb plot against New York City by a suspected al-Qaida associate pleaded not guilty Monday.

"I have nothing to hide," Ahmad Wais Afzali told reporters outside federal court in Brooklyn after his plea.

Tagged as: ahmad, Ahmad Wais, al, al-Qaida, associate, bomb, bomb plot, Brooklyn, Fbi, foxnews, Imam, Monday, New York City, plea, plot, Qaida, wais No Comments

Counterterrorism targeting leadership

Recent targeted attacks that killed militants in Somalia, Indonesia and Pakistan have chipped away at Al Qaeda’s power base, sapping the terror network of key leaders and experienced operatives who train recruits and wage attacks.
Intelligence officials said Friday that the military strikes have reduced Al Qaeda’s core leadership to only a handful of men and diminished its ability to train fighters. This, they said, has forced Al Qaeda to turn to its global affiliates for survival.
The killings of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in Somalia, Noordin Muhammed Top in Indonesia and Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan — all in recent weeks — have been the latest blow.

The Mumbai terror attack's first prototype: Mike's Place, Tel Aviv, 2003

Five years ago, al Qaeda enlisted two Pakistani British Muslims to land by sea in Tel Aviv, seize a large beachside hotel and the nearby US embassy, take hostages and shoot as many as possible. Recruited at London's radical Finsbury Park mosque (like Shoe-bomber Richard Reid, Asif Muhammed Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif were trained for their mission in neighboring Syria and Gaza Strip.

But they missed their main objectives. Instead, they hit Mike's Place, a bar, killing three Israelis and injuring 60. Those directives, however, recurred strikingly - albeit on a mega-scale - in the Islamist terrorists' method of operation in Mumbai, on Wednesday, Nov. 26.