UPDATE: The latest on this story - Al-Qaida Bomb Plot: How Alarmed Should U.S. Be?
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Latest Bomb Plot Shows al-Qaida Affiliate Making ‘Inroads’
Although the latest attempt to take down an aircraft using a bomb hidden in underwear failed, the plot still shows al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is making “big inroads” as the most active affiliate of the terrorist network, said Michael Leiter, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
For jihadis, chat rooms are the font from which they can receive messages directly from al-Qaida leaders in Yemen, North Africa, Iraq and elsewhere.
On March 23, a few of the top jihadi chat forums went dark. Nobody has claimed responsibility for bringing the sites down, though Zelin suspects it was an international intelligence agency trying to prevent the release of some kind of information. Although the sites regularly go down and then reappear, “this is the longest they’ve gone dark since the forums started becoming popular in 2003,” Zelin said.
The war in Afghanistan began 10 years ago today.
(Photo: Sgt. Joseph Krause and fellow soldiers return to Fort Carson, Colorado, on June 15, 2011, after serving in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province. JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES)
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Ray Suarez recalls a 2001 interview with Anwar al-Awlaki, a high-level U.S.-citizen linked to al-Qaida, who was killed in Yemen Friday.
Also, tune in tonight for a report from NPR and the Center for Investigative Reporting on how government and domestic intel has changed since 9/11.
(Watch live online from 6-7 p.m. ET here)
centerforinvestigativereporting:
After 9/11, the government began encouraging local police, private security and everyday Americans to report so-called “suspicious activity” that may indicate a security threat. Taking photos of landmarks, walking “nervously” and writing in a notebook are all activities that have led to people being stopped and questioned. Could you be next? Watch our Suspect America animation and then click through to read our investigation with NPR: Mall of America visitors unknowingly end up in counterterrorism reports.
Quick graphical look at bin Laden’s ties to the al-Qaida inner circle as well as key figures in global terrorism.
One of the next questions to ponder is, who could take his place?
(Shared by Maureen Hoch )
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