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On tape, terror chief claims responsibility for attempt
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Bin Laden claims airline bomb attempt
Jan. 24: In a new audio message, Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas. Msnbc's Peter Alexander reports.
Video released of Taliban attack
Possible new al-Qaida threat?
updated 12:18 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2010
CAIRO - Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas in a new audio message released Sunday threatening more attacks on the United States.
The United States said there was no indication to suggest that bin Laden or any of his top lieutenants had anything to do with the attempted attack and that the claim may have been motivated by the wish of the terror network's leaders to appear in control of al-Qaida's offshoots.
"They offer strategic guidance and rely on their affiliates to carry out that strategic guidance," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in an interview.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
"He (bin Laden) is trying to continue to appear relevant," he said.
The Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab told federal agents shortly afterward that he had been trained and given the explosives by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, an al-Qaida-inspired offshoot in bin Laden's ancestral homeland of Yemen.
In the minute-long recording released to al-Jazeera Arabic news channel, bin Laden addressed President Barack Obama saying the recent attempt was meant to send a message similar to that of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the Sept. 11," he said. "America will never dream of security unless we will have it in reality in Palestine," he added.
"God willing, our raids on you will continue as long as your support for the Israelis continues."
U.S.-based IntelCenter, which monitors militant messages, said bin Laden used specific language he has used before in advance of attacks, a possible indicator of an upcoming action within the next 12 months.
The phrase "Peace be upon those who follow guidance" appears at the beginning and end of messages released in advance of attacks to warn al-Qaida's enemies that they need to change their ways or they will be attacked, IntelCenter said in a statement. The language, used in the latest message as well, allows al-Qaida to blame the actual attack on those who refuse to change their ways, which in the group's view forces a response.
There was no way to verify the voice on the audio message was actually bin Laden, but it resembled previous recordings attributed to him.
Same hollow justification
The U.S. said it could not immediately authenticate the message. But White House adviser David Axelrod told CNN's "State of the Union" that whatever the source, the message "contains the same hollow justification for the mass slaughter of innocents."
Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up his plane as it approached Detroit Metro Airport on Christmas Day. However, the explosive powder he was hiding in his underwear failed to detonate.
On Friday, Britain raised its terror threat alert to the second-highest level, one of several recent moves the country has made to increase vigilance against international terrorists after the Christmas Day bombing attempt on a flight from Amsterdam.
Video
Intel chief cites mistake
Jan. 20: The nation's top intelligence official said the FBI rushed into questioning the man accused of planning to bomb a U.S. jetliner on Christmas day instead of first considering whether to treat him as an enemy combatant to get intelligence information. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
Nightly News
Bin Laden's message came four weeks after the Yemen-based group made its own claim of responsibility for the bomb plot with a different justification linking it to Yemeni military attacks on al-Qaida targets with the help of U.S. intelligence.
But a senior U.S. intelligence official in Washington said al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is linked to the central al-Qaida that bin Laden heads and recent intelligence indicates there are ongoing contacts between al-Qaida in Yemen and in Pakistan.
He added, however, that there was "no evidence whatsoever" that bin Laden had any involvement in the Christmas Day plot or even knew about it in advance. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
The message appeared to be an attempt by bin Laden to stay relevant, said Rohan Gunaratna, author of "Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror."
"The training and the definition of the attack was by the local leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, so in many ways you can say bin Laden is exploiting for his benefit this particular attack," he said. "Bin Laden still wants to claim leadership for the global jihad movement."
Of all the various offshoots and branches of al-Qaida around the world, Gunaratna said the group in Yemen is one of the closest to bin Laden since it is made up of bodyguards and associates of the organization's top ideologues. Yemen is bin Laden's ancestral homeland.
"Today the operational relationship has somewhat suffered, but the ideological relationship is very strong and that is why bin Laden claimed this attack," Gunaratna said.
CONTINUED1 | 2 | Next >
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35042867/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/
View dates tied to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and the attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253.
Tracing the path of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a wealthy bankers son, prestigious London college grad and now an accused terrorist.
more photos
MORE VIDEO
Jan. 24: In a new audio message, Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas. Msnbc's Peter Alexander reports.
Video released of Taliban attack
Possible new al-Qaida threat?
CAIRO - Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas in a new audio message released Sunday threatening more attacks on the United States.
The United States said there was no indication to suggest that bin Laden or any of his top lieutenants had anything to do with the attempted attack and that the claim may have been motivated by the wish of the terror network's leaders to appear in control of al-Qaida's offshoots.
"They offer strategic guidance and rely on their affiliates to carry out that strategic guidance," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in an interview.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
"He (bin Laden) is trying to continue to appear relevant," he said.
The Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab told federal agents shortly afterward that he had been trained and given the explosives by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, an al-Qaida-inspired offshoot in bin Laden's ancestral homeland of Yemen.
In the minute-long recording released to al-Jazeera Arabic news channel, bin Laden addressed President Barack Obama saying the recent attempt was meant to send a message similar to that of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the Sept. 11," he said. "America will never dream of security unless we will have it in reality in Palestine," he added.
"God willing, our raids on you will continue as long as your support for the Israelis continues."
U.S.-based IntelCenter, which monitors militant messages, said bin Laden used specific language he has used before in advance of attacks, a possible indicator of an upcoming action within the next 12 months.
The phrase "Peace be upon those who follow guidance" appears at the beginning and end of messages released in advance of attacks to warn al-Qaida's enemies that they need to change their ways or they will be attacked, IntelCenter said in a statement. The language, used in the latest message as well, allows al-Qaida to blame the actual attack on those who refuse to change their ways, which in the group's view forces a response.
There was no way to verify the voice on the audio message was actually bin Laden, but it resembled previous recordings attributed to him.
Same hollow justification
The U.S. said it could not immediately authenticate the message. But White House adviser David Axelrod told CNN's "State of the Union" that whatever the source, the message "contains the same hollow justification for the mass slaughter of innocents."
Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up his plane as it approached Detroit Metro Airport on Christmas Day. However, the explosive powder he was hiding in his underwear failed to detonate.
On Friday, Britain raised its terror threat alert to the second-highest level, one of several recent moves the country has made to increase vigilance against international terrorists after the Christmas Day bombing attempt on a flight from Amsterdam.
Jan. 20: The nation's top intelligence official said the FBI rushed into questioning the man accused of planning to bomb a U.S. jetliner on Christmas day instead of first considering whether to treat him as an enemy combatant to get intelligence information. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
Nightly News
Bin Laden's message came four weeks after the Yemen-based group made its own claim of responsibility for the bomb plot with a different justification linking it to Yemeni military attacks on al-Qaida targets with the help of U.S. intelligence.
But a senior U.S. intelligence official in Washington said al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is linked to the central al-Qaida that bin Laden heads and recent intelligence indicates there are ongoing contacts between al-Qaida in Yemen and in Pakistan.
He added, however, that there was "no evidence whatsoever" that bin Laden had any involvement in the Christmas Day plot or even knew about it in advance. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
The message appeared to be an attempt by bin Laden to stay relevant, said Rohan Gunaratna, author of "Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror."
"The training and the definition of the attack was by the local leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, so in many ways you can say bin Laden is exploiting for his benefit this particular attack," he said. "Bin Laden still wants to claim leadership for the global jihad movement."
Of all the various offshoots and branches of al-Qaida around the world, Gunaratna said the group in Yemen is one of the closest to bin Laden since it is made up of bodyguards and associates of the organization's top ideologues. Yemen is bin Laden's ancestral homeland.
"Today the operational relationship has somewhat suffered, but the ideological relationship is very strong and that is why bin Laden claimed this attack," Gunaratna said.
CONTINUED1 | 2 | Next >
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35042867/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/
