Muslim Cleric Banned from Britain Claims Al Qaeda Poised to Launch Su[i]cide Attacks in Syria
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Omar Bakri Mohammed, the radical cleric banned from the United Kingdom for 'glorifying terrorism', has told the Daily Telegraph from his base in the Middle East that al Qaeda is poised to wage war against the Syrian regime.

Bakri, once nicknamed the 'Tottenham Ayatollah', said hard line Salafi Muslim groups, including al Qaeda, and his own Al-Ghuraba group, also proscribed in the UK, are ready to help their 'Muslim brothers' with a campaign of suicide attacks against President Bashar al Assad.

"In two or three operations, [al Qaeda] can make the Ba'ath party run away," he added. "With self sacrifices operations – you call them suicide bombings, al Qaeda will go to the Parliament when the Ba'ath are inside, he will explode and he will say 'Oh God receive me. Oh God I am hurrying towards you'".

"Al Qaeda are so clever, they can make so many weapons from nothing. They can go to any kitchen, make a very nice pizza bomb and deliver it fresh," added Bakri.

Speaking from his new home in Lebanon, the self styled cleric who caused controversy after the 2005 London bombings by blaming them on the government and British public, called the wave of pro-democracy revolutions that have swept the Middle East in the past year, 'al-Qaeda's victory'.

The volatility in the Arab world, and the dismantling of authoritarian regimes and ruthless intelligence services have given Salafist groups room to breathe and the thousands of jailed Islamists in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, released as the dictatorships crumbled, have been perfect for recruiting he added. » | Ruth Sherlock, Beirut | Wednesday, January 25, 2012