Archive

Posts Tagged ‘homegrown terrorism’

Islam In America: Could The Kenyan Mall Slaughter Happen Here? News Flash: It Already Has …

10/13/2013 1 comment

“We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world — including in my own country” – President Barack Hussein Obama to the Turkish Parliament, April 2009 …

Zechariah 5:3a, 8a, “… This is the curse [“alah“] that goes out over the face of the whole earth … This is Wickedness …”

Recommended: 270 Million Non-Muslims Slaughtered Over Past 1400 Years For “Allah”
Recommended: 80% Of American Mosques Teach Jihad Violence And Islamic Supremacism
Recommended: 20 Obama Quotes About Islam Contrasted With 20 Obama Quotes About Christianity

A Salt Lake City police officer inside the Trolley Square Mall Feb., 12, 2007, the night of the shooting

A Salt Lake City police officer inside the Trolley Square Mall Feb., 12, 2007, the night of the shooting

By Paul Sperry, New York Post – “After Islamic gunmen attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, the collective reaction from the US media was to speculate whether such terror could happen here, as if a jihadist assault on a mall inside America had never before been tried.

CNN was typical: ‘Can it happen here? Yes, say security experts, but it hasn’t.’

News flash: it did.

On the evening of Feb. 12, 2007, a young Muslim man walked into the Trolley Square mall in Salt Lake City with a pistol-grip, 12-gauge shotgun and a 38-caliber revolver and opened fire on shoppers, killing five and wounding four others, including a pregnant woman.

Police say he ‘sought to kill as many people as possible.’ He had a backpack full of ammunition, enough firepower to massacre dozens of innocent people. But fortunately, an off-duty cop returned fire and eventually, with the help of other police, put an end to the terrorist’s life and grand plans.

Twice as many people were killed at the Utah mall than the Boston Marathon. Yet the attack garnered few national headlines.

Local media wrote it off as the act of a madman, parroting the quick conclusion of law enforcement.

Officially, the FBI declared the mass shooting was not an act of terrorism.

‘We were unable to pin down any particular motive,’ said Tim Fuhrman, then-special agent in charge of the bureau’s field office in Salt Lake City. ‘Unfortunately, his motivations went to the grave with him.’

But the FBI ignored much of the shooter’s background.

A Salt Lake City police officer inside the Trolley Square Mall Feb., 12, 2007, the night of the shootingPhoto: AP

The shooter was Sulejmen Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian immigrant named after Suleiman the Magnificent, the 16th-century jihadist-turned-sultan.

As early as 2004, police were called to Talovic’s school after it was discovered that he was looking at Tek-9 semiautomatic firearms on the Internet and boasting that his ‘grandfather was in the jihad.’

It was a reference to the 1990s holy war between Bosnian Muslims and Christian Serbs in which his grandfather was reportedly killed.

Apparently, Talovic had prepared for his own martydom. He told a friend before the attack that ‘tomorrow is going to be the happiest day of my life, but it will happen only once.'” Read more.

CAIR Free: CAIR Thwarts Local Somali Leader’s Efforts To Warn US Gov’t Of Homegrown Terrorism

09/23/2013 Leave a comment

An Islamist organization protecting Islamism? Can’t say that I’m shocked. CAIR is, after all, the same organization actively fighting against any and all legislation banning Sharia law in America. It’s the same organization actively working towards forcing more school closures on Islamic holidays. It’s the same organization actively pushing for Muslim prayer in public schools while attacking off-site voluntary Bible studies. It’s the same organization actively seeking the removal of any government worker or expert daring to speak the truth about Islam. It’s even the same organization actively teaching Muslims how to evade questions from anti-terror law enforcement. In the deceptive world of CAIR, to “encourage dialogue” and “promote justice and mutual understanding” means nothing more than “We speak. You listen. Understand?” …

Hadith, Al Bukhari 4.268, “Allah’s Prophet [Mohammed] said, ‘War is deceit.'”

Qur’an Sura 33:21, “Indeed in Allah’s Messenger (Mohammad) you have an excellent example to follow for him who hopes in (meeting with) Allah and the Last Day…”

awad_nihadcair_americans_dont_know_anything

The Daily Caller – “The Council on American Islamic Relations repeatedly tried to stop a Minnesota community leader from warning about the dangers al-Qaida-linked group posed to the Somali-American community prior to the Kenyan mall massacre.

‘I tried to warn America,’ Abdirizak Bihi, a Minnesota-based Somali community leader, explained to The Daily Caller.

Minnesota residents were reportedly among the attackers in the grisly assault by al-Shabaab terrorists on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The Twin Cities are home to the largest Somali community in the United States.

Bihi has been working to stop radicalization of Somali-Americans for years. He has testified before Congress about the dangers of radicalization in the U.S. Somali community, working alongside the FBI and the Justice Department. His involvement is personal. Bihi’s nephew was radicalized by al-Shabaab and joined the group in 2008. He was killed the following year.

But he told The Daily Caller the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has blocked his efforts for years, telling law enforcement agencies by telling them that he doesn’t know the Somali community and calling him “an Islamophobe” in a recent report.

‘They say that I am a bad person, that I am anti-Muslim, and that I don’t represent a hundred percent the Somali community,’ Bihi said. ‘They lie about my life most of the time and try to destroy my character, my capability, and my trust in the community.’

Bihi, director of the Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center, also says CAIR has tried to bring Somalis into the organization and denies the threat that terrorism poses.” Read more.

Flashback: A CAIRful Examination

Virginia: Muslim Man Arrested After Police Find Shrapnel-Laced Bomb In Home

09/10/2013 12 comments

He says it was only built for peaceful “self-defence” purposes. But then again, so were the bombs detonated by the Boston Bombers

Female Suicide Bomber for Al-Qaeda: “We are defending Islam and its sanctity”

Hadith, Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 992, ”Fight everyone in the way of Allah and kill those who disbelieve in Allah.”

NBC4 Washington – “A Fairfax County man has been charged with possessing a crude homemade bomb constructed out of fireworks.

Thirty-eight year-old Atal Bashar of Burke is a native of Afghanistan and a naturalized U.S. citizen. He made an initial appearance Monday in federal court in Alexandria.

According to an FBI affidavit, a cleaning service hired by a real estate agent found what appeared to be a bomb while cleaning Bashar’s father’s home in the Alexandria section of the county in March 2012.

According to the affidavit, Bashar admitted to investigators last week that he built the device for self-defense by placing fireworks in the duffel bag and surrounding it with shrapnel like nails and screws.

Bashar is being held pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday.” Source – NBC4 Washington.

Flashback: Sic Semper Tyrannis

Expert: The Overwhelming Majority Of Terror Plots In America Are Motivated By Islam

08/27/2013 3 comments

When the “holy” teachings of a religion’s “god-like prophet” openly endorses bloodshed and terrorism, this shouldn’t be surprising anyone …

The “Prophet” Mohammed, Al Bukhari Hadith 2977, “I have been made victorious with terror.”

Qur’an Sura 33:21, “Indeed in Allah’s Messenger (Mohammad) you have an excellent example to follow for him who hopes in (meeting with) Allah and the Last Day…”

But only with like-minded Muslims

But only with like-minded Muslims

By Ellison Barber, The Washington Free Beacon – “The threat of homegrown terrorism has escalated in recent years, a counterintelligence and counterterrorism official said on Wednesday.

‘To give you a sense of how big this thing is, and I’m only tracking the people and plots when somebody is arrested and charges are made. … Turns out now we’re up to 148 plots and 398 people,’ David Major, a counterintelligence adviser to President Ronald Reagan and founder of the CI Centre, said at the International Spy Museum.

Homegrown or domestic terrorism is not confined to radical Islamists, Major said. Aaron Greene and Morgan Gliedman, Operation Backfire, or the shooting at the Wisconsin Sikh temple show terrorists run the gamut of ideologies.

However, as a society we tend to focus on the acts perpetrated by Islamic extremists. Critics have questioned the practicality of this, but Major says it is a logical focus.

The majority of the 148 plots were motivated by Caliphate doctrine, a term for the ideology of Islamist groups such as al Qaeda, Major told the Washington Free Beacon.

Citing research from his institution, Major noted ‘114 plots or 77 percent of them are self-identified Caliphate plots,’ and ‘about 20 percent’ are groups such as ‘neo-Nazis, anarchists, the anti-government groups.’

Caliphate doctrine is based on a return to the rule of the first four caliphs, who were considered the ‘perfect’ caliphs. It is described as the core narrative of al Qaeda today.

A senior fellow at the Brookings Institute wrote al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists look at this period as ‘a model for what Islam should seek to revive, a caliphate that can unite the Islamic world or at least a large part of it, drive out the West, and be a player on the international political stage.'” Read more.

Flashback: New Study Shows That 80% of Mosques in America Teach Jihad Violence and Islamic Supremacism – “… Then there was the Center for Religious Freedom’s 2005 study, and the Mapping Sharia Project’s 2008 study. Each independently showed that upwards of 80% of mosques in America were preaching hatred of Jews and Christians and the necessity ultimately to impose Islamic rule. And now comes yet more confirmation that mosques in the U.S. are teaching these things, and again the percentage is remarkably similar: around 80% of mosques are found to be teaching jihad warfare and Islamic supremacism.” Read more.

Fort Hood Shooter Who Killed 13 Americans For The Cause Of Allah Says He Did It To Save The Lives Of Taliban Fighters

06/05/2013 Leave a comment

It’s still unclear just how many Taliban terrorists Nidal Hasan managed to save. Regardless, according to the Obama Administration this act of Islamic terrorism that was carried out in the name of Allah by a closet jihadist had absolutely nothing to do with Islam. It was a simple case of “workplace violence” …

"Workplace Violence": Murdered 13 Americans while shouting "Allah is Greater"

“Workplace Violence”: Murdered 13 Americans while shouting “Allah is Greater”

Fox News – “FORT HOOD, Texas –  A judge says she won’t decide whether to delay the Fort Hood shooting suspect’s trial until he provides evidence to support his defense strategy — and she might not accept it.

Maj. Nidal Hasan said Tuesday his defense will explain that he killed 13 people in the 2009 shooting rampage because soldiers were about to deploy to Afghanistan. He says he was trying to prevent the imminent death of Taliban fighters.A ‘defense of others’ strategy requires defendants to prove they killed a person or people to protect others from immediate danger or death.

Hasan, who’s representing himself at his murder trial, is seeking a three-month delay. The judge may rule Wednesday, delaying jury selection until at least Monday.

He faces the death penalty or life without parole if convicted.” Source – Fox News.

Flashback: Obama Administration Makes it Official: The Fort Hood Massacre by Jihadist Nidal Hasan Was ‘Workplace Violence’ and Nothing More – “Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood massacre as workplace violence and suggested political correctness is being placed above the security of the nation’s Armed Forces at home. During a joint session of the Senate and House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, the Maine Republican referenced a letter from the Defense Department depicting the Fort Hood shootings as workplace violence. She criticized the Obama administration for failing to identify the threat as radical Islam.” Read more.

Flashback: Willful Ignorance About The Religious Roots Of Islamic Terrorism Is Endangering Americans – “Attorney General Eric Holder is stereotyping Muslims in America, and his willful ignorance about the religious roots of Islamic terrorism endangers Americans and marginalizes Muslim reformers, say experts on Islamist terror groups. That assessment was prompted by Holder’s announcement during a Tuesday congressional hearing that American Muslims ‘have the same desires that we all have.’ His declaration came during an answer about the training manuals used by some FBI trainers, which have drawn furious criticism from Islamist lobby groups. Those manuals, Holder said, contain training lessons that ‘can really undermine, really undermine, the really substantial outreach efforts that we have made and really have a negative impact on our ability to communicate effectively, as we have in the past, with this community.’” Read more.

Idaho: Muslim Man Charged After Providing Bomb-Making Knowledge To Islamic Militants, Possessing Bomb-Making Material

05/17/2013 1 comment

For peaceful purposes …

Reuters – “U.S. officials charged an Uzbek citizen in Idaho with providing bomb-making knowledge and other support to an Islamist militant group, knowing that it would be used in an attack, authorities said on Thursday.

Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, a national of Uzbekistan living legally in Idaho, was arrested in Boise and faces a three-count grand jury indictment in Idaho and a single-count indictment in Utah, prosecutors said.

They said Kurbanov provided information and money to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The group supports establishing strict Islamic rule in Uzbekistan.

Authorities said Kurbanov’s activities were closely monitored and any potential threat had been contained.

The indictment alleges that Kurbanov had provided support and resources to the group since August 2012 and that he knew this could be used to prepare for and carry out an attack using a weapon of mass destruction. He could face up to 15 years in prison on each of those two charges.

Kurbanov was also charged with possessing a hand grenade, with a fuse as well as aluminum powder, potassium nitrate and sulfur, which could be used to create an improvised bomb. That charge calls for up to 10 years in prison.

In Utah, prosecutors said Kurbanov had showed Internet videos, gave instructional shopping trips, and detailed in writing where to find components and how to build bombs.” Read more.

Flashback: Strict Muslim’ from Uzbekistan Caught by the FBI Sought Ways to Kill President Obama, ‘Didn’t Care If He Lost His Life In An Assassination Attempt’ – “A man from Uzbekistan who pleaded guilty Friday to plotting to kill President Barack Obama with an automatic rifle claimed he was acting at the direction of an Islamic terror group in his home country. Authorities said Ulugbek Kodirov had discussed trying to kill the president as he campaigned for re-election because he would be out in public more often. Kodirov entered the plea during a hearing in Birmingham before U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon, an Obama appointee.” Read more.

Flashback: Churches Raided, Crosses Burnt, Fathers Arrested: ‘Arab Spring’ In The Caucasus And Central Asia Spelling Doom For Local Christians – “Mirroring what is happening in the world, there is an Islamic revival in the Caucasus and Central Asia, with all that it means for local Christians. The predominantly Muslim Central Asian Republics, after the collapse of the Soviet Union of which they were part, have seen an increase in the persecution of Christians. The fall of dictatorship, in a pattern similar to that of post-war Iraq and the ‘Arab Spring’ in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, seems to have ‘liberated’ the radical elements within the Muslim communities.” Read more.

North Carolina: Muslim Man Seeking To Be ‘A Soldier For Allah’ Planned ‘Local Jihad’ Including Robbery, Murder, Bombings

05/15/2013 Leave a comment

For peaceful purposes …

By Caitlin Dineen, Fayobserver.com – “Members of the FBI thwarted a Fayetteville teenager’s plan to rob and kill people who did not share his Islamic beliefs, according to documents.

Erwin Antonio Rios, 19, of the 1200 block of Oak Knolls Drive, allegedly planned to obtain a gun illegally and take part in a local religious jihad against non-believers, or kuffar, and members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Rios met with an FBI informant over several months and detailed his attacks. They included robbing armored vehicles, killing guards protecting them, and luring police to a home and setting off bombs, documents say.

Rios adhered to the ideology of radical Islamic extremism groups, according to court documents. Those groups believe violence is religiously justified.

Rios told an FBI informant he wanted to be a soldier for Allah, according to an affidavit signed Feb. 7 by Special Agent Frank Brostrom.

Rios started talking to the informant June 27, after meeting at an Islamic house of worship in Raeford.

Part of his planned attacks included staging a robbery of an armored vehicle and shooting two of the guards in the face, the documents say.

Another attack would have involved police, according to records. Rios said he wanted to make bombs and plant them in a house.” Read more.

North Carolina: Muslim Man Sentenced In Plot To Behead Witnesses, Tells Judge That Islam ‘Invalidates All Other Religions’ – “A North Carolina man was sentenced Friday to four life terms for plotting to behead federal witnesses whose testimony helped convict him for his role in an earlier plot to slaughter U.S. servicemen and their families. Hysen Sherifi, 29, was one of six Raleigh-area Muslims convicted in 2011 of planning to attack the Marine base in Quantico, Va., and overseas targets.” Read more.

North Carolina: Muslim Man Sentenced In Plot To Behead Witnesses, Tells Judge That Islam ‘Invalidates All Other Religions’

05/11/2013 Leave a comment

Qur’an Sura 9:123, “O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you …”

Qur’an Sura 8:12b, “… terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an.”

Even if it means hiring a disbelieving infidel hitman to behead the disbelieving infidel witnesses for you …

By MICHAEL BIESECKER, The Seattle Times – “RALEIGH, N.C. —A North Carolina man was sentenced Friday to four life terms for plotting to behead federal witnesses whose testimony helped convict him for his role in an earlier plot to slaughter U.S. servicemen and their families.

Hysen Sherifi, 29, was one of six Raleigh-area Muslims convicted in 2011 of planning to attack the Marine base in Quantico, Va., and overseas targets.

Shortly after starting his 45-year prison sentence in the terror case, Sherifi approached another inmate to help him hire a hit man to behead government informants and FBI agents. He recruited his younger brother Shkumbin Sherifi, 23, and former special education teacher Nevine Aly Elshiekh, 48, to help pay the hit man and organize the murders.

But the inmate whose help Sherifi sought turned out to be yet another government informant. FBI agents then staged an elaborate sting that involved secretly videotaped meetings with a woman posing as the go-between for a fictional hit man named Treetop and doctored photos that appeared to show the corpse of a beheaded witness in a shallow grave.

Federal prosecutors recommended leniency for the two coconspirators, who pleaded guilty last year and agreed to testify at the elder Sherifi’s trial on nine felony counts.

Citing their extensive cooperation, U.S. District Senior Judge Earl Britt sentenced the younger Sherifi to 3 years in prison, while Elshiekh got 3 1/2 years. They had faced as much as 10 years each.

Before Hysen Sherifi was sentenced, he lectured the judge about Islamic teachings.

‘The Koran is the truth that invalidates all other religions,’ said Sherifi, who declined a court-appointed lawyer and represented himself at trial. ‘If you do not submit, he will severely judge you, and on the day of judgment you will enter hellfire.'” Read more.

Three More Suspects Arrested In Boston Bombing Case As Saudi Arabia Reveals It Warned US Of Tsarnaev, ‘Something Was Going To Happen’

05/01/2013 4 comments

Not only did Saudi Arabia reportedly warn the United States about the threat that the elder Tsarnaev brother posed and that “something was going to happen in a major U.S. city”, they even deemed Tamerlan Tsarnaev too “radical” to visit Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. This is a monumental epic failure on the part of “Homeland Security” …

Update: The Saudi ambassador in Washington is now denying that they warned America about Tsarnaev …

MyFoxBoston – “Three new suspects have been taken into custody in the Boston Marathon bombings investigation, the Boston Police Dept. tweeted Wednesday morning.

The new suspects are expected to be charged with providing some sort of assistance to the two main suspects, sources told Fox News. It was not immediately known when the suspects were taken into custody.

Boston police said there was no immediate danger to the public and referred further questions to the FBI.

The development comes as investigators have continued to scrutinize two of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s classmates at UMass-Dartmouth.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s alleged associates are natives of Kazakhstan and have already been detained by U.S. immigration officials for alleged immigration violations.

Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev were in federal immigration court earlier Wednesday morning on those matters, a government source said; however, the court hearing was delayed.

Authorities were not immediately saying who the three detained were or if Tsarnaev’s two classmates were part of the new group of suspects.

An attorney for Kadyrbayev has told media outlets that the two young men have been interviewed by FBI agents and that they were cooperating.

The Boston Police Dept. broke the news in a tweet, writing, ‘Three additional suspects taken into custody in Marathon bombing case. Details to follow.'” Read more.

New Boston Suspects Drove Car With ‘Terrorista #1′ License Plate – “Two suspects who have been taken into custody in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings drove a car with ‘Terrorista #1’ license plates. Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev were reportedly arrested, along with one other person, for allegedly making false statements and obstructing justice during the federal investigation into Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, officials said Wednesday. Tazhayakov and Kadrbayev, who are reportedly in FBI custody, drove around in a black BMW with ‘Terrorista #1’ license plates and were also photographed with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Times Square.” Read more.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev Was Too Radical Even For Saudi Arabia, US Warned In Writing About Possible Terror Connections And That ‘Something Was Going To Happen In A Major U.S. City’ – “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sent a written warning about accused Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2012, long before pressure-cooker blasts killed three and injured hundreds, according to a senior Saudi government official with direct knowledge of the document. The Saudi warning, the official told MailOnline, was separate from the multiple red flags raised by Russian intelligence in 2011, and was based on human intelligence developed independently in Yemen. Citing security concerns, the Saudi government also denied an entry visa to the elder Tsarnaev brother in December 2011, when he hoped to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the source said. Tsarnaev’s plans to visit Saudi Arabia have not been previously disclosed. The Saudis’ warning to the U.S. government was also shared with the British government. ‘It was very specific’ and warned that ‘something was going to happen in a major U.S. city,’ the Saudi official said during an extensive interview. It ‘did name Tamerlan specifically,’ he added.” Read more.

Boston Bombers Anticipated The Coming Of The ‘Islamic Messiah’, Establishment Of Global Islamic Leadership From Temple Mount

04/23/2013 Leave a comment

This gives credence to the claim from former CIA spy Reza Kahlili that Iran was, in some way, directly connected to the Boston terror attacks …

By Joel Richardson, Joels Trumpet – “Well, surprise, surprise. It has now become quite clear that the two brothers who committed the terrorist attack in Boston this past week were not merely radical Muslims, but Mahdists as well. This is to say that at least part of their worldview was formed by Islamic eschatological expectation concerning the Mahdi. In a video posted on the now deceased Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s YouTube account, we are taught about ‘The promised emergence of the black flags from the promised land of Khorasan’. The black flags, as I discuss in my book, Islamic Antichrist, are a reference to Muslim armies that are prophesied to come from the region of North-east Iran / Afghanistan / Pakistan under the leadership of the Mahdi. According to the video, these armies are now forming and will soon march to Jerusalem to establish the seat of global Islamic leadership from the Temple Mount. Despite the desperate efforts of the mainstream / left-wing media to downplay the foundational nature of Islam in the Tsarnaez brother’s worldview and murderous acts, what has happened once again on American soil is clear. The Islamists have hit us again. Meanwhile, large portions of the Church are all too determined to believe in conspiratorial syncretistic / improvisational apocalyptic theories, yet the reality of what is coming is right in front of us. Turn on the TV. Radical Islam is not going away. Denying reality or hiding our heads in the sand will not delay the inevitable. See the video below:” Source – Joels Trumpet.

Boston Bombers Followers Of Iran’s Ayatollah – “The two brothers who set off the bombs at the Boston Marathon Monday were assets of a bigger network out of South Asia and were set up to be burned so there would be no link back to their handlers – and Iran. As reported exclusively April 16, a source within the Iranian intelligence services told WND that the Islamic regime had links to Monday’s bombings and that Hezbollah terrorists and Quds Forces were involved in the shadows. The information was shared with U.S. officials.” Read more.

Iran Panics Over Boston Bombing Link To Tehran – “Much of Iran’s media today panicked, attacking WND reports on the Islamic regime’s involvement in the Boston Marathon bombings and claiming Washington is behind the WND reports so the U.S. can attack other countries. WND’s source for the report regarding Iran’s involvement in the bombings, a member of the regime’s intelligence services, said today regime officials fear a campaign in the United States for a retaliatory attack on Iran similar to what happened to Afghanistan after 9/11.” Read more.

Large Scale: ‘Major Terrorist’ Plot Targeting New York And Canada Broken Up By Canadian And U.S. Authorities

04/22/2013 Leave a comment

Update: Today’s arrests were made following a multi-agency investigation involving the RCMP, CSIS, FBI, CBSA, OPP as well as local police in Ontario and Quebec. Authorities say Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35 were plotting a large-scale al-Qaeda linked/inspired terror attack against a popular VIA passenger rail route between Toronto and New York City. Of course, such a route was not chosen because it serviced the fewest number of travelers, but rather because of the highest number of travelers they’d potentially kill for the glory of Allah …

By Greg Weston, CBC News – “Canadian police and intelligence agencies say they have arrested two men and thwarted a plot to carry out a major terrorist attack on a Via passenger train.

The two accused are Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser. They have been charged with conspiracy to carry out a terrorist attack and ‘conspiring to murder persons unknown for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group.’

In a statement, RCMP said while they believe the individuals accused had the ‘capacity and intent’ to carry out an attack, they believed there was ‘no imminent threat’ to the public, rail employees, train passengers or infrastructure.

The two men are expected to appear in court tomorrow.

Highly placed sources tell CBC News the alleged plotters have been under surveillance for more than a year in Quebec and southern Ontario.

The investigation was part of a cross-border operation involving Canadian law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

According to a Reuters report, U.S. law enforcement and national security sources said the alleged plot targeted a railroad between Toronto and New York City.

The arrests Monday morning were co-ordinated and executed by a special joint task force of RCMP and CSIS anti-terrorism units, combined with provincial and municipal police forces in Ontario and Quebec…

Law enforcement officials say the terror suspects arrested today have no connection to the two brothers accused of last week’s Boston Marathon bombings.

They also say there is no tie to the former London, Ont., high school friends who joined al-Qaeda and died earlier this year while helping to stage a bloody attack on an Algerian gas refinery.

Sources say the alleged plot disrupted by Monday’s arrests was potentially more dangerous than the bombings and hostage-takings planned by the so-called Toronto 18.” Read more.

Update: Authorities Thwart Islamic Terror Plot in Canada to Attack Railroad Between Toronto and NYC – “Authorities have reportedly prevented an al-Qaeda-supported terrorist attack that aimed to disrupt a major North American transportation route. Canadian law enforcement confirmed Monday afternoon that authorities thwarted an alleged terror plot in Canada that targeted a railroad that runs between Toronto, Ontario and New York City in the United States.” Read more.

Boston Bomber Sympathetic Toward Al-Qaeda, Posted Video Regarding Islamic ‘Prophecy’ Of ‘The Black Flags From Khorasan’

04/19/2013 6 comments

By THOMAS JOSCELYN, The Weekly Standard – “BuzzFeed has linked to the YouTube page of Tamerlan Tasarnaev – the older brother in the pair suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon earlier this week. A video he linked to on his page is titled, ‘The Emergence of Prophecy: The Black Flags From Khorasan.’

The video deals with a key part of jihadist mythology: That one of the most significant battles fought against the ‘infidels’ will take place in the Khorasan, a geographic area that includes parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

As my colleague Bill Roggio has explained, ‘The Khorasan is considered by jihadis to be the place where they will inflict the first defeat against their enemies in the Muslim version of Armageddon. The final battle is to take place in the Levant – Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Mentions of the Khorasan have begun to increase in al Qaeda’s propaganda.’

This, of course, does not make the brothers al Qaeda operatives. It does increase the likelihood that Tamerlan Tasarnaev, if this is indeed his YouTube page, was at least sympathetic to the same underlying ideology.

Authorities still have to carefully piece together the details of how the brothers became terrorists, however, including if they have any ties abroad. And this investigation will produce a more complete dossier on their beliefs and motivations.

But Tamerlan Tasarnaev’s affinity for this video should at least inject the concept of the fight for the Khorasan into the public discourse.

Al Qaeda and its allies see the Khorasan as central to their long-term designs. For example, al Qaeda regularly puts out an online magazine titled ‘Vanguards of Khorasan.’ Other jihadists, including those from the Caucasus and from groups linked to al Qaeda, have picked up this theme.” Read more.