AL-QAEDA IN the Arabian Peninsula, a militant group based in Yemen, is promising to launch more small-scale and relatively cheap attacks similar to its attempt to bomb two US-bound cargo aircraft last month.
In the latest edition of Inspire, its English-language online magazine, the group said the operation to send the parcel bombs, which were intercepted in Dubai and Britain, had cost just $4,200 (€3,072).
“It is such a good bargain for us to spread fear among the enemy and keep him on his toes in exchange of a few months of work and a few thousand bucks,” the magazine said.
The parcel bombs, which originated from Yemen, caused a global security scare and caused governments to review the security of cargo aircraft.
In the magazine, the group boasted of the details of the bomb plot, which it dubbed Operation Haemorrhage. The bombs used pentaerythritol tetranitrate, an explosive difficult to detect, hidden in the cartridges of two printers because, it said, toner was carbon-based and had a similar molecular composition.
The magazine listed the cost of the printers at $300 each, with additional expenses coming from two Nokia mobile phones at $150 apiece, plus shipping and transport costs. The bombs were addressed to two Chicago synagogues.
“To bring down America we do not need to strike big,” the magazine said.
With the “security phobia that is sweeping America, it is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve [fewer] players and less time to launch”. It said its aim was to damage the aviation industry, which was “so vital for trade and transportation between the US and Europe”.
The Yemen group, which has been described as al-Qaeda’s most active affiliate group, shot to prominence after claiming it had trained and equipped a Nigerian student accused of attempting to blow up a passenger jet over the US last December with explosives sewn into his underpants.
The group also claimed responsibility for a failed assassination attempt in August 2009 on Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Saudi Arabia’s deputy interior minister for security affairs.
Both of those attacks are believed to have used pentaerythritol tetranitrate. US officials have said they suspect the bomb maker to be Ibrahim Asiri, a Saudi fugitive.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was formally established at the beginning of 2009, when Yemen-based militants joined forces with Saudi extremists fleeing a sustained crackdown by security forces in their country.
Yemen’s government, backed by US military and financial assistance, has vowed to step up its battle against the group. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)