Monday, June 3, 2013

Jun 2, 2013 - 21 hours ago in World

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The military chief of Al-Qaeda in Yemen has issued a warning to Americans in a new message entitled "A letter to the American people". The message was posted on militant websites connected with the organisation.

Qassim al Rimi warned Americans that their leaders would not be able to protect them or maintain their security, mentioning the Boston bombings as one example: The Boston events ... and the poisoned letters (sent to the White House), regardless of who is behind them, show that your security is no longer under control, and that attacks on you have taken off and cannot be stopped. Everyday you will be hit by the unexpected and your leaders will not be able to defend you

The military chief also went on to call on America to stop interfering in the affairs of Muslim countries, and to leave Muslims alone in order to stop the violence: “Leave us with our religion, land and nations and mind your own internal affairs Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, known as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is regarded as one of the deadliest and most threatening Al-Qaeda offshoots to American interests. AQAP have come the closest to attacking America out of all other Al-Qaeda offshoots. In 2009 AQAP sent underwear bomber Umar Farouk to detonate a hidden explosive device he was wearing, he was only thwarted after passengers noticed smoke emanating from him. In 2010 another AQAP plot was foiled, when explosive devices onboard cargo planes bound for the US were found and defused. According to US security officials, AQAP was also involved in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi that killed American ambassador Christopher Stevens. Though not directly linked to the Boston bombings that left 3 dead, AQAP's magazine Inspire, was used by the Boston bombers on how to make and construct a bomb. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving younger brother who took part in the Boston attack, also told investigators that he and his brother were inspired by the internet sermons of US born cleric Anwar Awlaki. Awlaki was a senior member of AQAP before his death, serving as one of the group's main recruiter and proponent of it's ideology, through his sermons and lectures that were widely published online. AQAP is currently waging an insurgency against the Yemeni central government, and controls several large swathes of land in southern Yemen. The group was also recently the target of two American drone strikes inside Yemen that killed 7 alleged members of the movement.