Maritime Jihad. “UAE: Al Qaeda Responsible for Japanese Tanker Attack,” by Khaled Wassef for CBS News, August 6:
Ten years after the deadly attack on the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole in the Gulf of Aden, al Qaeda once again struck at sea with a suicide attack on a Japanese oil tanker.
A UAE Coast Guard source confirmed Friday that the tanker, M. Star, was the target of a terrorist attack while passing through international waters near the Strait of Hormouz on July 28.
”UAE explosives experts who collected and examined samples found a dent on the starboard side above the water line and remains of homemade explosives on the hull,” the source said. “Probably the tanker had encountered a terrorist attack from a boat loaded with explosives.”
On Wednesday, an al Qaeda-linked group called “Abdullah Azzam Brigades” issued an online statement claiming that M. Star was the target of a kamikaze attack orchestrated by the group. It identified the suicide bomber as Ayyub al-Taishan. The group said that he blew himself up into the tanker in the Straight of Hormouz, between the U.A.E and Oman, causing major damage to the giant ship, which was carrying two million barrels of crude oil.
The attack only caused minor damage to the tanker’s starboard side, but it raises serious concerns over al Qaeda’s capacity to reach targets at sea, and its renewed interest in maritime Jihad.
Threats of attacks at sea have been monitored on several Jihadi blogs in recent months, as well as messages calling for the revival of this often forgotten Jihadi tradition. In April last year, jihadis published a religious study entitled: “Maritime Jihad: Its Importance, Rewards, and Advantages.” The study called for a revival of maritime terrorism, and incited the Mujahideen to include it in their agenda.
“When a Mujahid at sea sets foot on a boat, he leaves all his sins behind his back, and when he steps off the boat, he is cleansed of sins like the day he was born, and god smiles at him,” the publication says….