الرئيسية
DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S.-born al Qaeda militant Anwar al-Awlaki, killed
in a CIA drone strike in September, posthumously called on U.S. Muslims
to join the group in the Middle East in a video released on Tuesday.
Awlaki, identified by U.S. intelligence as "chief of external
operations" for al Qaeda's Yemeni branch and a Web-savvy publicist for
the Islamist cause, was killed in a remote Yemeni town by missiles fired
from multiple CIA drones.
"You have two choices: either hijra (emigration) or jihad (holy
war)," Awlaki said in the video, which was posted on Islamist websites.
"I specifically invite the youth to either fight in the West or join
their brothers in the fronts of jihad: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia.
"I invite them to join us in our new front, Yemen, the base from
which the great jihad of the Arabian Peninsula will begin, the base from
which the greatest army of Islam will march forth," said Awlaki, a
cleric of Yemeni descent, speaking in English.
Awlaki was implicated in a failed attempt by al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner in 2009, and he had contacts
with an American army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at a U.S.
military base the same year.
The video included a message to the American people issued by Awlaki
in March 2010. But the SITE monitoring service, which tracks jihadist
statements, said Awlaki's call to join al Qaeda abroad had not appeared
on that tape, although it has since been referred to in an online
magazine of al Qaeda's Yemeni wing.
FOLLOWER ARRESTED IN U.S.
In November, New York police arrested a follower of Awlaki on
suspicion of building a pipe bomb to use against U.S. soldiers returning
from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Eloquent in English and Arabic, Awlaki encouraged attacks on the
United States and was seen as a man who could draw in more al Qaeda
recruits from Western countries.
In Boston, a jury on Tuesday found a Massachusetts man guilty of
supporting al Qaeda by translating Arabic messages and supporting
militants travelling to Yemen for training.
In Yemen, gunmen shot dead an intelligence officer in the southern
province of Lahej, a security official told Reuters, adding that al
Qaeda was believed to be responsible.
Separately, security forces arrested seven alleged al Qaeda members
who were planning attacks on government installations and officials in
the south, the Defence Ministry said.
in a CIA drone strike in September, posthumously called on U.S. Muslims
to join the group in the Middle East in a video released on Tuesday.
Awlaki, identified by U.S. intelligence as "chief of external
operations" for al Qaeda's Yemeni branch and a Web-savvy publicist for
the Islamist cause, was killed in a remote Yemeni town by missiles fired
from multiple CIA drones.
"You have two choices: either hijra (emigration) or jihad (holy
war)," Awlaki said in the video, which was posted on Islamist websites.
"I specifically invite the youth to either fight in the West or join
their brothers in the fronts of jihad: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia.
"I invite them to join us in our new front, Yemen, the base from
which the great jihad of the Arabian Peninsula will begin, the base from
which the greatest army of Islam will march forth," said Awlaki, a
cleric of Yemeni descent, speaking in English.
Awlaki was implicated in a failed attempt by al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner in 2009, and he had contacts
with an American army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at a U.S.
military base the same year.
The video included a message to the American people issued by Awlaki
in March 2010. But the SITE monitoring service, which tracks jihadist
statements, said Awlaki's call to join al Qaeda abroad had not appeared
on that tape, although it has since been referred to in an online
magazine of al Qaeda's Yemeni wing.
FOLLOWER ARRESTED IN U.S.
In November, New York police arrested a follower of Awlaki on
suspicion of building a pipe bomb to use against U.S. soldiers returning
from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Eloquent in English and Arabic, Awlaki encouraged attacks on the
United States and was seen as a man who could draw in more al Qaeda
recruits from Western countries.
In Boston, a jury on Tuesday found a Massachusetts man guilty of
supporting al Qaeda by translating Arabic messages and supporting
militants travelling to Yemen for training.
In Yemen, gunmen shot dead an intelligence officer in the southern
province of Lahej, a security official told Reuters, adding that al
Qaeda was believed to be responsible.
Separately, security forces arrested seven alleged al Qaeda members
who were planning attacks on government installations and officials in
the south, the Defence Ministry said.