Qaeda Group Threatens to Attack World Cup

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The North African terror group al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has threatened to attack this summer's World Cup games in South Africa.

"How amazing could the match United States vs. Britain be when broadcasted live on air at a stadium packed with spectators when the sound of an explosion rumbles through the stands, the whole stadium is turned upside down and the number of dead bodies are in their dozens and hundreds, Allah willing," reads a statement the group published in a recent issue of the Jihadi online magazine Mushtaqun Lel Jannah (Longing to Paradise).

The statement also highlights recent actions by the terrorism group such as the December suicide bombing that killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian agent at a base in Eastern Afghanistan last December and the Christmas Day bombing attempt that resulted in the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian who has been cooperating with the FBI and providing information about his contacts in Yemen and the al Qaeda affiliate that operates there.

"Al Qaeda, who managed to deliver 50 grams of explosives to the Detroit plane, after infiltrating dozens of U.S. security barriers, al Qaeda, who enabled brother martyr Abul Kheir (Abdullah Asiri) to get into the palace of Mohammed bin Nayef, al Qaeda, who humiliated the world's greatest intelligence apparatus through the operation of Mujahid Abu Dujana al-Khorassani (Humam al-Balawi), who shattered the pride of the CIA and the Jordanian intelligence combined," the statement says. "Al Qaeda will have a presence in the games, Allah willing."

In addition to the U.S. and U.K. teams, the teams representing France, Germany and Italy are also on the group's list of targets.

"All those countries are part of the Zionist-Crusader campaign against Islam," the statement says.

The group says they will use some undetectable explosive that will be able to circumvent security checkpoints at the games. The statement appears to directly challenge FIFA's president Joseph Blatter.

"All the security checks and X-ray machines that America will be sending after reading this article would not be capable of detecting how those explosives made it into the stadium and that for a simple reason that we will be announcing in due course," the statement says. "So are your preparations for this event up to scratch, Mr. Platter? (sic)"

South Africa had announced last October that its security forces had foiled an al Qaeda plot to carry out a terrorist attack during the 2010 football World Cup. According to reports published then, South Africa's National Intelligence Agency, senior police forces and American agents jointly conducted the operation, which led to the arrest of a number of suspects linked to the group in Somalia and Mozambique working on a plot to carry out bomb attacks during the games.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20001940-503543.html

 

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England World Cup match targeted by terrorist group linked to al-Qa'eda

England's opening World Cup match against the USA is being targeted by a terror group linked to al-Qa'eda.

An immediate review of security was ordered last night for the showpiece game in South Africa after an Algerian-based group posted an online threat to bring 'deaths' in an explosion on the day of the game.

Thousands of British and American fans are expected to descend on the town of Rustenberg - 40 miles north of Johannesburg on June 12 - for the Group C game.

The fear of a terror attack is one of the biggest concerns of tournament organisers with USA and Britain at the top of the target list because of their leading role in the War on Terror.

The threats were made on a jihadist online magazine of the North Africa terror group 'al-Qa'eda in the Islamic Maghreb', a militant organisation based in Algeria.

The group said it planned to use a form of 'undetectable' explosive that will be able to evade security checkpoints. The article refers to an 'explosion causing hundreds of deaths'.

This incident put World Cup organisers on a heightened state of alert for the forthcoming tournament and now there will be further concerns about security at the 45,000 capacity stadium hosting the game.

The terror threat prompted a response from FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke.

He said: 'It does not mean that because we receive a threat, the World Cup should not be allowed to be contested in South Africa or any other country

'We have freedom in the world to celebrate what we want. As the management of the organisation that governs world football, we know there is a threat. We will not stop the organisation of the World Cup because we got the threat.'

The Football Association would not comment but insiders said that both the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Home Office and Foreign Office were aware of the threat.

More than 2.2 million tickets have already been sold for the month-long tournament and South African police have insisted their World Cup security plans are adequate despite the threats made ahead of England's match against the USA.

British anti-terror expert Professor Paul Wilkinson of St Andrews University said yesterday that the threat should be taken seriously.

He said: 'It is genuine and very similar to many other al-Qa'eda websites That doesn't mean what is stated on such websites is to be believed.

'On the other hand, the message may have the effect of mobilising an individual or group to carry out an attack and it is essential for the authorities to increase security. '

The threat comes at a time of growing concern over the expansion of al-Qa'eda in Africa. While Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have all supplied fighters to Jihadist groups - a hard-core of terrorist are now being trained in Somalia.

Earlier this year the Togo team was ambushed as it travelled to the African Cup of Nations tournament in Angola - killing three and injuring a number of others.

A group called the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda - which has no known links to al-Qa'eda - later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last night South African police chief Vishnu Naidoo questioned the credibility of the threat, but added: 'Interpol will be based in South Africa during the duration of the tournament.

'They have also established a database of all persons involved in organised crime, from hooliganism to terrorism.

'No one from that database will be allowed here. We also have our own intelligence community here, the police, army, secret service, working on a daily basis, monitoring potential threats.

'Our police officers are being trained by the American police to combat chemical, biological and nuclear attacks.'

Terror experts said it was unusual for al-Qa'eda and linked organisations to give advance warning of their precise target, tactics and plans.

Professor Paul Wilkinson added: 'It is unusual, to say the least, for al-Qa'eda and affiliate organisations to give advance notice of their precise target and the tactic they will use.

'However, the authorities can't afford to ignore it, because people reading this message will include militants who might think this is something they want to do.

'The deliberate pinpointing of this match highlights the hatred al-Qa'eda has for our country and the United States.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/wo...rist-group-linked-al-Qaeda.html#ixzz0kgtbqBtl