Thursday, July 01, 2010

Osama bin Laden. Image: Google Images

Al Qaeda to Launch English-language Online Newspaper

THE TELEGRAPH: Al-Qaeda is preparing to launch its first online propaganda newspaper in English, a move that could help the terror group recruit inside the US and Europe.

The group has begun promoting the paper, called Inspire, with animated online graphics promising a "special gift to the Islamic nation."

Counterterrorism officials and terror analysts say it will be run by al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen, which has been linked to the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt of a US-bound airliner.

The launch suggests that, as al-Qaeda's core has been weakened by CIA drone airstrikes, the group hopes to broaden its reach inside the US, where officials have seen a spate of homegrown terrorists.

The new publication "is clearly intended for the aspiring jihadist in the US or UK who may be the next Fort Hood murderer or Times Square bomber," Bruce Riedel, a Brookings Institution scholar and former CIA officer, said. >>> | Thursday, July 01, 2010