President Biden announced Monday that the U.S. government killed the leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, in a “successful” counterterrorism operation in Afghanistan that removes the terrorist from the battlefield “once and for all,” and degrades the terror network’s ability to operate.
Read More: Fox News
Canadian authorities announced Monday they have broken up an Al Qaeda-linked terror plot to attack a passenger train as it crossed over a bridge in the Toronto area. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that two suspects have been arrested on terrorism charges. Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, who live in greater Montreal and Toronto — were conspiring to carry out an Al Qaeda-supported attack against Via Rail, but posed no immediate threat to the public.”It was definitely in the planning stage but not imminent,” RCMP Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan told reporters at a news conference.
via Al Qaeda-linked plot to attack passenger train broken up by Canadian, U.S. authorities | Fox News.
In a recent propaganda message on a jihadist forum, Al Qaeda have posted a map of future strikes on countries sympathetic to the French, following French and allied attempts to oust Al Qaeda forces from Mali.
Concern over President Obama’s nominee for Defense Secretary, former Senator Chuck Hagel, who is set to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Conservative former officers say Mr. Hagel is the wrong person to head the Pentagon because of his soft-line views on Iran, hostility toward Israel and support for cuts in U.S. military and nuclear forces.
The north western African country of Mali has seen intense fighting in recent months. As armed Islamist rebels, backed by al-Qaeda, have taken much of northern Mali, the French President Francois Hollande has provided troops and heavy air support to help the ill equipped Malian army regain ground taken by the rebels.
Now the Islamist rebels have pledged to attack France on French soil.
“France has attacked Islam. We will strike at the heart of France,” Abou Dardar, a leader of Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of the Mali-based groups with ties to al Qaeda, told the AFP news agency.
Mali is awaiting more support from other African nations, with America and Britain providing logistical support to the offensive.
There are currently around 550 French troops in the country helping the Malian army.
US intelligence officials believe a former Guantanamo Bay inmate with ties to Al-Qaeda is “likely” to have organized the attack which killed the American ambassador to Libya last week, according to new reports.
A burnt car is seen parked outside the U.S. consulate in Benghazi Photo: REUTERS
By Richard Spencer, Benghazi11:59AM BST 20 Sep 2012
The former inmate, Sufyan Ben Qumu, is one of the leaders of Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan militant Islamist group with a high-profile presence in the east of the country that has already been identified by local officials as involved in the attack on the consulate in Benghazi in which Chris Stevens died.
“It was people from Ansar al-Sharia – not all of them but some of them, and I think (the organization) knows who did it.”
Bomb threats lead to evacuations at University of Texas, North Dakota State University | Fox News.
The universities of Texas and North Dakota were evacuated earlier today, after a man claiming to be with Al-Qaeda said he had placed bombs all over the campuses.
No bombs have been found in either university. North Dakota State University has now allowed students to return.
The man claimed the bombs would go off in 90 minutes; the deadline passed with nothing happening.
New video surfaced featuring al Qaeda commander Abu Yahya al-Libi — American officials declared dead last week — The video made before or after his reported death?
New footage, posted in jihadi forums referring to al-Libi in honorific titles, al-Libi discusses ongoing violence in Syria, makes no specific reference to any specific significant events. Does not mention the Houla massacre of May 25, in which the United Nations says more than 100 people, nearly half of them children, were executed, allegedly by government militiamen. Syrian opposition groups and the government have been engaged in a bloody struggle for more than a year, since well before al-Libi’s reported death.
via Abu Yahya al-Libi ‘Dead’ al Qaeda Terrorist Appears in ‘New’ Video – ABC News.
Christmas is a difficult time for the church in Muslim nations. It is often when authorities will clamp down on the churches, and when individuals will attack believers in their communities. Christmas 2011 has been no exception.
Since Mubarak was removed from power in Egypt the Christian community in Egypt have found themselves in an increasingly dangerous position, as Islamic fundamentalist groups seek to destroy the remnant of Christianity within Egypt (before the rise of Islam, Egypt was a Christian nation). At the end of the year in southern Egypt a young Christian man was arrest after a drawing of the prophet Muhammad was posted on his Facebook page. The 17 year old denies doing this, saying his friends posted the image. Whatever the truth may be, Muslims in his home town have reacted angrily retaliating by setting fire to the homes of other Christians in the town. Egypt like many other Muslim nations has strict Blasphemy laws; often used to detain Christians, or as justification for violence against Christians.
In Iran 2011 saw a crack down on church activity, in particular upon converts from Islam. The crack down was intensified over the Christmas period, when pastors were arrested, and churches raided. In one incident even the children were initially detained by police. One man, Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, has been sentenced to death for refusing to denounce his faith.
Christians detained in Iran can find themselves in the countries infamous Evin Prison, notorious for it’s brutality and harsh conditions. One woman lately released after nearly a year in detention, has been left unwell due to the harsh conditions she experienced- this is not uncommon.
However, the worst violence this Christmas against Christian’s in the region has been in the predominantly Muslim Northern Nigeria. Nigeria has seen churches destroyed and Christian’s killed, in an al-Qaeda lead offensive, with the objective of forcing all Christians to leave the region.
These places are spiritually dark. The devil delights in the spilling of innocent blood, and he has captured these people into the lie of thinking they are doing the will of God by attacking, and killing followers of Jesus. Many of these places were once Christian nations; Egypt was taken for Islam as Muslims settled in the region and had bigger families than the Christians, until they were the majority, since then the Christian minority have been oppressed.
When the mantle comes into Europe, we often see God moving in these Middle Eastern countries too; pray as Prophet TV comes into Europe that the small Middle Eastern church will be strengthened and that Sons of God will be raised up in these regions also.