Al Qaeda Cleric's Call From Grave: Attack With Bio Weapons
Anwar al-Awlaki, killed in drone strike, quoted in new al Qaeda magazine.
May 3, 2012 — -- One of al Qaeda's most prominent radical clerics may have been killed in a drone strike last year, but his words appear to have lived on in a new issue of al Qaeda's English-language magazine in which he calls for biological attacks against the U.S.
"The use of chemical and biological weapons against population centers is allowed and is strongly recommended," U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki is quoted as saying in one of two new issues of the Inspire magazine.
Awlaki, who was taken out in a drone strike in September 2011, was believed to have been connected to several terrorist plots against the American homeland including the Fort Hood massacre in 2009 and the unsuccessful Christmas Day underwear bombing the same year.
Recently two new issues of al Qaeda's Inspire magazine appeared online after several months without any publication. In the same airstrike that killed Awlaki, U.S. officials said the primary editor of the magazine, U.S.-born member of al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate Samir Khan, was also killed. But it appears the magazine lives on, if with a new editor and without proofreaders.
Both new issues are riddled with typos, including one on the cover of issue nine, where a headline asks whether the West or al Qaeda is "Wining on the Ground."
The new issues feature lengthy tributes to Awlaki and Khan but also offer chilling advice to would-be jihadists: use firebombs. One of the issues has detailed instructions on how to ignite an "ember bomb" in a U.S. forest.
"In America, there are more houses built in the [countryside] than in the cities," says one writer, who uses the pseudonym The AQ Chef. "It is difficult to choose a better place [than] in the valleys of Montana."
The other issue has an eight-page article on how to construct remote-controlled explosives, with a laundry list of parts and ingredients and photos showing proper assembly. It also gives tips on shooting a handgun.
The articles also claim that Awlaki predicted his own demise.
According to the article, after a drone strike nearly missed his vehicle, Awlaki said, "This time 11 missiles missed [their] target, but the next time the first rocket may hit it."
Awlaki's premonition "proved to be true," says the writer. "I wish I had been with them so I could have attained a great attainment."