Note: This is No. 3 in a series of reports about the second edition of the AQAP's Inspire magazine
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On October 11, 2010, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released the second issue of its English-language magazine Inspire. In its Open Source Jihad (OSJ) section, two articles written by Yahya Ibrahim discuss possible methods for American Muslims to carry out terrorist operations.
Yahya's feature article, titled "The Ultimate Mowing Machine," discusses the idea of using "a pickup truck as a mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah." Yahya says that this idea comes as a response to America's brutality towards Muslims.
In the next segment, Yahya provides tips for American Muslims on various aspects pertaining to the planning and execution of terrorist attacks against the U.S.
When presenting the different options for operations, Yahya talks about the use of biological or chemical weapons. Yahya ends his article promising further information in future issues of the magazine on the topic of weapons of mass destruction.
The following are excerpts from Yahya Ibrahim's "The Ultimate Mowing Machine," followed by selected excerpts from Yahya's tips for American Muslims:
"Use a Pickup Truck as a Mowing Machine - Not To Mow Grass, But Mow Down the Enemies of Allah"
"America is a terrorist state and Americans are complacent in some of the worst forms of terrorism our Muslim nation has been subjected to. Millions of Muslim lives have been lost to American brutality. It is about time Muslims wake up and payback America what is due to it.
"In this section, the OSJ [i.e. Open Source Jihad], we give our readers suggestions on how to wage their individual jihad. Here is one idea of how an individual Muslim may do so. It is a simple idea and there is not much involved in its preparation. All what is needed is the willingness to give one's life for Allah.
"The idea is to use a pickup truck as a mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah. You would need a 4WD pickup truck. The stronger the better. You would then need to weld on steel blades on the front end of the truck. These could be a set of butcher blades or thick sheets of steel. They do not need to be extra sharp because with the speed of the truck at the time of impact, even a blunter edge would slice through bone very easily. You may raise the level of the blades as high as the headlights. That would make the blades strike your targets at the torso level or higher.
"Pick your location and timing carefully. Go for the most crow[d]ed locations. Narrower spots are also better because it gives less chance for the people to run away. Avoid locations where other vehicles may intercept you.
"To achieve maximum carnage, you need to pick up as much speed as you can while still retaining good control of your vehicle in order to maximize your inertia and be able to strike as many people as possible in your first run. Keep in mind that as soon as people realize what you are up to, they would scatter and run in every direction looking for cover. They would look for areas where the vehicle cannot reach them. Therefore, it is important to study your path of operation before hand. The ideal location is a place where there are a maximum number of pedestrians and the least number of vehicles. In fact if you can get through to 'pedestrian only' locations that exist in some downtown (city center) areas, that would be fabulous. There are some places that are closed down for vehicles at certain times due to the swarms of people. If you have access to firearms, carry them with you so that you may use them to finish off your work if your vehicle gets grounded during the attack.
Yahya's Tips for American Muslims to Use Weapons of Mass Destruction
The following are selected excerpts from Yahya's tips for American Muslims, lightly edited for clarity:
"...These are some of our suggestions [to our brothers in the U.S.]. The best operation however is the one where you come up with an innovative idea that the authorities have not yet turned their attention to, and that leads to maximum casualties or - equally important - maximum economic losses.
"The Firearm Operation...It's the least suspicious if you already own a firearm. For this choose the best location. A random hit at a crowded restaurant in the Washington DC at lunch hour for example might end up knocking out a few government employees. Targeting such employees is paramount and the location would also give the operation additional media attention.
"Also those brothers of ours who have specialized expertise, and those who work in sensitive locations that would offer them unique opportunities to wreak havoc on the enemies of Allah, should take advantage of their skills.
"For those mujahid brothers with degrees in microbiology or chemistry lays the greatest opportunity and responsibility. For such brothers, we encourage them to develop a weapon of mass destruction, i.e. an effective poison with the proper method of delivery.
"Poisonous gases such as nerve gas are not out of reach for the chemist and require simple equipment. A microbiologist would be capable of developing the most effective strains of Clostridium botulinum and thus develop the most lethal toxin of all: botulin. An effective botulin attack administered properly could lead to hundreds if not thousands of casualties.
"For such brothers we would ask them to take the utmost security precautions and take their time even if that means years [of preparation]. Such an operation is worth the wait.
A PDF is available upon request to members of the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor Project. For the full document, send an email with "Open Source Jihad" in the subject line to media@memri.org.
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