NEW YORK – An al-Qaeda magazine posted online with articles such as “make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom” is a bid to recruit Americans to launch attacks in the United States, a senior lawmaker said.
The first edition of Inspire was posted online late on Sunday by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and includes an article by Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical US-born Muslim cleric based in Yemen who is wanted by US authorities.
The English-language publication has messages from Osama bin Laden, step-by-step graphics for an “easy-to-read manual on how to make a bomb using ingredients found in a kitchen”, and an article on how to send and receive encrypted messages.
“This is an unfortunately well-done magazine that is proof positive that al-Qaeda and its affiliates have launched a direct appeal for Americans to launch small-scale attacks here,” said Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.
“The magazine is a virtual how-to guide for becoming a terrorist,” he said.
“The internet is facilitating the increase in homegrown radicalisation, giving al-Qaeda a powerful means to inspire,” New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said last month after failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a car bomb in Manhattan in May.
The 67-page Inspire magazine was published by Al-Malahem Media, which said it was al-Qaeda’s first English-language publication. An initial attempt to post the magazine online two weeks ago failed.
“America cannot and will not win,” al-Awlaki said in the magazine. “The tables have turned and there is no rolling back of the worldwide jihad movement . . . On the eve of 9/11 it was Afghanistan alone. Today it is Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the list is growing.” – (Reuters)