This is the cover and editorial of the new issue of INSPIRE, online magazine, written in English and published by Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula, which appeared for the first time in 2010. It is one of the many tools used by Al Qaeda to elicit reaction from fundamentalists around the world.
Not having a real army to fight in the open, Al Qaeda aims at creating small untraceable units, completely unsuspected cells that make their anonymity the best weapon. The Boston marathon bombings have once again demonstrated the effectiveness of asymmetric attacks.
The thirteenth issue of Inspire was published last December 24 (non-random date).
Among the "headings" is a detailed manual on how to bypass security measures and a list of specific economic objectives. Entitled "The Bomb Hidden", the article is a central part of the new issue with explicit instructions for building a homemade bomb, made inside a plastic bottle of 17 centimeters. Al Qaeda has also announced new goals for next year, including the assassination of various financial leaders such as Ben Bernanke and Bill Gates.
The online magazine was first discovered in July of the 2010 by SITE, the national research institute for international terrorist entities. It was born as a tool to translate Osama Bin Laden's messages for Muslims in England and America into English. But not only. The goal of Inspire magazine is to justify the attacks, producing an alternative literature to reality told by Westerners.
Much of the content in the new online magazine is dedicated to renewing "jihad against America" and suggests targeting important American and Western commercial airliners. Ample space for independent cells with lone wolves scattered throughout the world.
To date the "lone wolf" are the most dangerous weapons on the planet for their difficult identification and the ability to hit highly sensitive or poorly protected targets, but of enormous emotional impact. The 112 magazine pages have been posted on the AQAP Twitter account as well as being uploaded to Youtube.
In the winter issue of Inspire, the targets to hit are suggested. Thus, for example, in the article called "Field Tactics", the author explains how to hide explosive devices. It is explained that the attack itself should not be seen as the "simple" detonation of a bomb, but as a tool that could damage the enemy's economy (USA in the first place). The American civilian lines to hit are American Airlines, United (with its 86,562 employees scattered around the world), Continental Airlines and Delta.
British Airways and British Easyjet and the French-Dutch Air France KLM are also targeted by terrorists. Preferred, in this issue, the attack on airliners (in the previous ones, instead, attacks in shopping malls or large gatherings were privileged. In this regard, the advice to dress up as Santa Claus stuffed with plastic and be blown up air).
Suicide bombers are suggested to remain calm, book long journeys so that they have plenty of time to strike. Terrorists are suggested to find a place near the wings of the aircraft, so as to hit the fuel contained in that part of the plane or in the queue in the explosion, so as to maximize the detonation.
References to high profile murders are not missing. In this issue of Inspire the personalities of the Economy become targets like Ben Shalom Bernanke, number one of the Federal Reserve or William Henry "Bill" Gates, founder of Microsoft.
Also in this issue there is an article from the AQ Chef (as we know, terrorists never lacked a sense of humor) on the procedures to be used in airports to hide explosive material. For example, the failed attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, accused of attempting a suicide attack with plastic explosives, hidden in his underwear, aboard the Northwest Airlines 253 flight, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, on 2009 Christmas day, is taken. Thanks to the mixing of some substances (PETN-TATP), the terrorist, imprisoned for over twenty minutes in the bathroom of the plane en route to Detroit, created an explosive substance. Abdulmutallab passed all the checks, making a mockery of the countermeasures at the Amsterdam airport.
To overcome the countermeasures in the five largest international airports in the country, the AQ Chef proposes some tricks that could allow the terrorist to board an airplane wearing explosive material.
Stem the metal detector? No problem, the "Chef" answers, just bring non-metallic materials with you. A trained dog, however, could smell the explosive. This is why it is suggested to cover the materials with non-porous substances or with silicone. Some airports use electronic devices that specifically detect a particular component or chemical element. The terrorists suggest to wash the shells again and again, while if the substances are inert, organic solvents could also be used.
But what scares a novice terrorist the most (the lone wolf is the terrorist next door), is the search for a security check. Here too, there is a solution. The example of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is reported. The search always takes place in some areas of the body and never in others. Hiding something in underwear (Farouk hid the explosive substances sewn into his underwear) is the best solution. Finally, on the Inspire 13 number it is advised to avoid those few airports that use x-ray scanning of passengers. There is no countermeasure, but there are very few devices in operation. The "Chef" concludes his column by stating that "200 grams of explosives are barely needed to carry out, with the Glory of Allah, one's mission".
According to data published in the winter issue of Inspire, more than 100 are the Islamic terrorist attacks perpetrated in Europe and the United States to have been successful. Success - according to the authors - achieved thanks to the increase in online propaganda.
In the Al Qaeda magazine there is also a warning addressed to financial leaders who, as soon as possible, "must withdraw the entire capital invested in American banks and declare that they do not agree with Western policies". This, the Inspire editors conclude, is the only way not to become targets for future attacks.
Finally, the list of objectives has been updated: among these, there is the World Trade Center.
Franco Iacch
