Al Qaeda targets recruits with English magazine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - 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 U.S. lawmaker said on Monday.
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 U.S.-born Muslim cleric based in Yemen who is wanted by U.S. authorities.
The English language publication also has messages from Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri, step by step graphics for "a detailed yet short, 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 at home," 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 in a statement.
U.S. authorities have expressed growing concern about the threat posed by so-called "homegrown terrorists."
Al-Awlaki has previously posted Internet videos to help inspire several Islamist extremists included failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army major who shot dead 13 troops at Fort Hood, Texas, last November in the worst-ever shooting on a U.S. military post.
"The Internet is facilitating the increase in homegrown radicalization, giving al Qaeda a powerful means to inspire," New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said last month after Shahzad pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a car bomb in midtown 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. Continued...
