Al Qaeda “may be a mortally wounded tiger that still has some life in it” — John Brennan, CIA director
The wound looks less mortal all the time.
“3 east Jerusalem al-Qaida recruits arrested, ‘planned massive bombings,'” by Yaakov Lappin for the Jerusalem Post, January 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced on Wednesday that it arrested three Palestinians from east Jerusalem recruited online by an al-Qaida operative in Gaza, who were in the midst of preparations to carry out a string of large-scale bombing and shooting attacks on multiple targets in Israel.
The intended targets included the Jerusalem Convention Center, a bus traveling between the capital and Ma’aleh Adumim, the US embassy in Tel Aviv, and emergency responders who would have arrived at the scene of attacks[.]
The Shin Bet said an al-Qaida operative in Gaza, named as Ariv Al-Sham, recruited the men separately from one another, and had planned to activate three independent terrorist cells via his recruits. Senior Shin Bet sources said they believed Al-Sham received his orders directly from the head of al-Qaida’s central structure, Ayman Al-Zawahri.
Using Sykpe and Facebook, Al-Sham was able to recruit Iyad Khalil Abu-Sara, 23, of Ras Hamis in east Jerusalem, who has an Israeli ID card. During questioning, Abu-Sara, who was arrested on December 25, admitted to volunteering to carry out a “sacrifice attack” on an Israeli bus travelling between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. In the planned attack, terrorists would have fired shots at the bus’s wheels, causing it to overturn, before gunning down passengers at close range, and firing on emergency responders.
According to the Shin Bet’s investigation, Abu-Sara also volunteered to help orchestrate a double suicide bombing, involving the dispatching of two suicide bomber to the Jerusalem Convention Center and the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, simultaneously. Subsequently, Abu-Sara planned to detonate a suicide truck bomb in the vicinity of emergency responders arriving at the Convention Center.
To that end, Al-Sham and Abu-Sara plotted to bring a group of foreign terrorists to Israel using fake Russian passports, who would have entered the country by posing as tourists. Abu-Sara was meant to receive the terrorists, and prepare their suicide bomb vests and a truck bomb. Abu-Sara was also supposed to travel to Syria for training in combat and explosives manufacturing, and had purchased a flight ticket to Turkey, a gateway to Syria.
Abu-Sara received computer files containing virtual training courses on bomb manufacturing from Al-Sham in Gaza, the Shin Bet added.
Security forces monitored communications between Abu-Sara and Al-Sham, observing how the latter asked his recruit which targets he had access to. After Abu-Sara suggested various targets, Al-Sham would direct the conversation towards operational aspects of attacks.
A second suspect, Rubin Abu-Nagma, confessed to plotting to kidnap a soldier from the Jerusalem Central bus station, as well as a bombing against a residential building housing Israeli Jews in the Abu Tor neighborhood of east Jerusalem. During questioning, he described how he learned to manufacture bombs online.
Ala Anam, a third suspect, also confessed to being in internet communication with Al-Sham, and plotting to set up a Salafi-Jihadi cell in Samaria for the purpose of carrying out terror attacks….

Salah says
“Al Qaeda “may be a mortally wounded tiger that still has some life in it” — John Brennan, CIA director
The wound looks less mortal all the time.”
—————————–
Al Qaeda (i.e Islam) is indeed mortally wounded. A dying beast is a very dangerous one, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a DYING beast. The wound may LOOK less mortal, but the fact is: Islam IS dying.
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/01/egyptian-muslims-tear-up-quran.html
mortimer says
I agree with Salah that Islam is mortally wounded. He knows from his conversations with family and friends how far doubt in Islam has spread and is spreading. The question is: How much funding is still available for jihad and where is it coming from? If the West can dry up the funding, jihad will have no weapons. The jihadists will be sitting ducks.
It’s a pity that Western intelligence agencies don’t spend time developing programs to debunk Islam and create doubt. Only when jihadists have substantial doubts about Islam will they desist from terrorism. They will not be planting bombs if they think Allah’s Brothel and Bar are fictitious.
dumbledoresarmy says
Fr Zakaria Botros with his “Life TV” satellite TV programs is not doing too bad a job – look him up. He has a *lot* of viewers. Cheerfully and knowledgeably and relentlessly he exposes all the ugly absurdities. Muslims scream, and hiss, and curse him, and make threats…and just keep on coming right back to watch the next episode of his show, they can’t stay away from it.
If you want a bit of bang for your buck, you can always donate some money to help him keep his show going. He seems to having some success producing apostates from Islam.
SaturnV says
The West will never be able to dry up the funding as long as Saudi Arabia and Iran are sitting on the bulk of the world’s known oil reserves. In a sense, we in the West are funding the jihad with the purchase and use of every kWatt of electricity and gallon of gasoline. I’m not a tree-hugger and am not advocating for a “green” economy. On the contrary, I want us to have a solid source of energy that does not send money to the jihadis. If that means increasing drilling in Alaska or revisiting nuclear energy, I’m all for it.
dumbledoresarmy says
“Three Palestians from East Jerusalem”. No, O Jerusalem Post, you should cut right to the chase: “Three local Arab Muslims”.
ApolloSpeaks says
FOR THWARTING A BENGHAZI DISASTER
in Tel Aviv how do you think Obama will reward Bibi Netanyahu? By doubling the pressure on him to make a suicidal peace with the Palestinians.
onisac says
Since when is an ideology, an ethnic issue?
gravenimage says
“3 east Jerusalem al-Qaida recruits arrested, ‘planned massive bombings’”
…………………………..
The security fence is working well, but there is always the problem of Mohammedans who are already within the gates.
All too few Muslim in Israel actually consider themselves to be Israeli—many of them represent a fifth column.
More:
The intended targets included the Jerusalem Convention Center, a bus traveling between the capital and Ma’aleh Adumim, the US embassy in Tel Aviv, and emergency responders who would have arrived at the scene of attacks[.]
…………………………..
Always a particular Jihad touch—to target anyone who dares to help the first victims. *Ugh*.
As for Al Qaeda, I believe that reports of its—and Islam’s—immanent demise have been much exaggerated…
dumbledoresarmy says
Here’s one Israeli blogger’s reaction to this news (she and her family take buses on the line that the jihadis intended to target).
Worth reading.
http://israelisoldiersmother.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/the-third-target.html
Thursday, January 23, 2014
The Third Target
Excerpt:
“…I told Amira [her teenage daughter – dda] about the third target and there were tears in my eyes. How amazing it is to have a daughter so filled with what we call emunah – faith. “It will be okay,” she assured me with a hug.
‘The fact is, we have amazing intelligence agencies – they caught them before the attack, remember? It didn’t happen. It could have, but it didn’t.
‘I was holding on to that thought…trying to find comfort in it, when I spoke to Elie [her adult son – dda], he too had not heard of the third target.
‘His response came from the soldier, “that’s why there are people carrying guns.”
‘Reality – the chances of gunman shooting out the tires is there. Yes, they might succeed.
‘But there are several additional factors – first the buses all have double tires – 8 instead of 4. Yes, terrorists could shoot out the tires on a bus…but most likely, the bus could continue – the scenario of my mind – the stopped bus being shelled mercilessly is just not realistic.
‘And another reality in Israel, almost always, there are people on board – like Elie – who are armed.
‘**As others would drop to the floor at the first warning that there was trouble, the armed and trained among them would rush to defend.**
‘And as I begin to think with my brain, my heart begins to fight back.
‘How stupid do these terrorists think our rescue forces are? Do they really think they would rush in without anticipating that the attackers were hoping to kill others? Do they expect those on the bus to just sit there and not do all they can to get away?…”.