MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Reporter: “What he did want to make very, very clear is that he wouldn’t say whether he acted alone, but he did say that … the acts were carried out by a group or himself allied to Al Qaeda, operating in France, was very adamant that this was only the beginning of a larger campaign… We spoke for about 11 minutes on the telephone and he was very clear … he said that France is no longer secure and that we should expect … more such attacks.”

Not affiliated with Iran per se — a previous post of mine yesterday inferred the possibility — but when he’s affiliated with and claims allegiance to Al Qaeda, what’s the difference when their ultimate goals of seeing the annihilation of Jews, the destruction of America and instituting a global Caliphate are the same? …

Update: Mohammed is dead …

“TOULOUSE, France (AP) — French police were preparing to storm an apartment building in Toulouse on Wednesday to arrest a holed-up gunman who is suspected in seven killings and claiming allegiance to al-Qaida, a top police official said.

Three officers were wounded in a predawn raid while trying to arrest the 24-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent who authorities said had spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hundreds of riot police have surrounded the building in the southwestern city.

Cedric Delage, regional secretary for a police union, said the suspect has promised to turn himself into police shortly. Delage said if that doesn’t happen, police will force their way in.

The gunman is suspected of killing three Jewish children, a rabbi and three French paratroopers in recent days.

The suspect has told police he belonged to al-Qaida and wanted to take revenge for Palestinian children killed in the Middle East, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said, adding the man was also angry about French military intervention abroad.

An Interior Ministry official identified the suspect as Mohamed or Mohammad Merah, who has been under surveillance for years for having ‘fundamentalist’ views. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

After hours of trying to persuade him to surrender, police evacuated the five-story building, escorting residents out using the roof and fire truck ladders.

The raid was part of France’s biggest manhunt since a wave of terrorist attacks in the 1990s by Algerian extremists.” Read more.

By Adam Cooper – “A petrol-bomb attack on a community centre has prompted fears among Melbourne’s Alevi population they could be targeted with more violence on religious grounds.

Glass bottles containing petrol and set alight were thrown at the front and rear doors of the Alevi Community Council of Australia centre in North Coburg overnight.

No one was inside the centre at the time of the incident, but a centre spokeswoman said the building’s rear door was badly burnt.

Surmeli Aydogan, the council’s community liaison officer, said the centre’s users were also concerned to find notes pinned to the fence threatening Alevis on religious grounds unless they ‘testified’ that Allah was the only god to be worshipped.

Ms Aydogan said the centre had previously received threatening phone calls, but had dismissed them as pranks. However, she said the attack with petrol bombs had left the council’s members shaken.

Alevi is a branch of the Sufi order of Shia Islam.

‘We’re worried this might happen again, and what if this happens when people are here? That’s our main concern,’ she said.” Read more.

By Chiara Onassis – “SANA’A: Mohamed Abdel-Mageed al-Zindany, the son of Yemen’s Sheikh Abdel-Mageed al-Zindani, a prominent cleric and powerful tribal leader, called on his fellow Yemenis to raise the flag of Islam and wage war on the American infidels, starting with US ambassador to Yemen, Gerard Feierstein.

In a fiery verbal attack against the ambassador, al-Zindani slammed American’s interference in Yemen, accusing the Pentagon of ‘meddling’ with the country’s internal affairs to better pursue its own agenda in the region.

Al-Zindani seems to be now stepping in his father’s footsteps as he rises against what he calls American imperialism. Sheikh Zindani, who famously figures on America’s most wanted terror list, was indicted last year by President Ali Abdullah Saleh and an arrest warrant was issued against his person.

The government has thus far failed to enact the order, with officials from al-Islah, the country’s Islamic political faction warning that they would oppose any move against one of its leaders. Heading the Islahis, Sheikh Zindani is a force to be reckoned with, and an estimated thousands hardened fighters under his direct command.” Source – Bikyamasr.com.

Yemen: Al Qaeda-Linked Group Kills American Teacher for Christian Proselytizing – “A group linked to Al Qaeda claims it killed an American teacher in Yemen for Christian proselytizing. Joel Shrum, a 29-year-old English language teacher from Harrisburg, Pa., had worked for two years in the central city of Taiz. Yemeni officials say Shrum was killed in his car Sunday morning when assailants in military uniforms sped up next to him on a motorcycle, opened fire and then sped away.” Read more.