Al-Qaeda number two plotting World Cup terrorist attack

Osama bin Laden's closest al-Qaeda lieutenant has been plotting a terrorist attack on the World Cup, Iraqi police said.

According to investigators, Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's number two, was conspiring with an al-Qaeda operative who was arrested in Baghdad two weeks ago.

The operative, named as Abdullah Azzam Saleh Misfar al-Qahtani and said to be a former Saudi army colonel who had travelled to Iraq and become security chief for al-Qaeda's local branch, has been accused of organising suicide bombings in two cities south of Baghdad.

Major General Qassim Atta, head of security in Baghdad, said he was also believed to have made contact with al-Zawahiri, the man generally regarded as al-Qaeda's second-highest leader after bin Laden.

"He participated in the planning of a terrorist act in South Africa during the World Cup," Maj Gen Atta said. "He was in contact with the terrorist Ayman al-Zawahiri to organise the plan hatched by al-Qaeda."

Maj Gen Atta gave no details of what the plot was or how far it had been developed. But last month a jihadist website published a statement in which al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African branch, suggested an attack might be made on England's opening game, against the United States.

The bulk of South Africa's police work in advance of the World Cup, starting next month, has been aimed at controlling high rates of violent crime.

Precautions have been laid against terrorist attacks, but police said they were still investigating the latest claims.

"The South African police are still working on getting confirmation," Nonkululeko Mbatha, a spokeswoman, said.

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/worldcup/index

Previously...

Quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2438241/posts

Moderate Muslim head of UK TV channel held on terror claims
(UPI) via JIHAD WATCH.org ^ | January 26, 2010 | n/a
Posted on January 27, 2010 12:12:51 AM PST by Cindy

“Moderate Muslim head of UK TV channel held on terror claims”

“U.K. Islamic TV head held on terror claims,” from UPI, January 26 (thanks to Block Ness):

SNIPPET: “PRETORIA, South Africa, Jan. 26 (UPI) — The head of Britain’s popular Muslim television station was arrested in South Africa and faces deportation to Tunisia on terrorism claims, officials said.

Mohamed Ali Harrath, the force behind Britain’s Islam Channel, was arrested Sunday in what some said was a security clampdown in South Africa in the months leading up to the 2010 World Cup soccer championship, The Times of London reported Tuesday.”

(Excerpt) Read more at jihadwatch.org ...

Quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2488772/posts

Qaeda Group Threatens to Attack World Cup
CBS NEWS.com ^ | April 7, 2009, 2:38 pm ET - Updated | Posted by Khaled Wassef
Posted on April 7, 2010 7:08:59 PM PDT by Cindy

SNIPPET: “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).”

SNIPPET: “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.”

SNIPPET: “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.”

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...

blog:

http://denmark.worldcupblog.org

http://denmark.worldcupblog.org/south-africa-2010/oh-ffs-olsens-elleve-targeted-in-terrorism-plot.html

“Oh FFS, Olsen’s Elleve targeted in terrorism plot”
May 18th, 2010 | by: Cerberus | No Comments »

SNIPPET: “The goal was to first target the Denmark-Netherlands game and to try and attack the Danish and Dutch teams and their fans to “get revenge” for the “insults” to the Prophet Muhammed and that the attack was to be carried out using firearms and car bombs.

It is not fully clear whether or not al-Queda really has the resources to pull off this attack so far away from their base of operations or even if the current plans have been approved yet by top Al-Queda operatives.

Of course, the recent attempt in Times Square might suggest that there still might be someone incompetent and dumb enough to try an attack anyways.
However, Danish, American, and Iraqi authorities are already communicating with South African police and authorities and they are remaining on stand-by until they receive further information from the Iraqi authorities.

FIFA has yet to make a statement regarding the case.”

Note: Photo included.

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/pic285.jpg

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/05/19/world-cup-bomb-plot-exposed-by-detained-militant/

Published : May 19, 2010 :: 10:05:45
“World Cup Bomb Plot Exposed by Detained Saudi Militant”

SNIPPET: “The detained man, a Saudi national, Abdullah Azam Saleh al-Qahtani explained that he had been recruited by al-Qaida in 2004 to help in the fight against US forces in Iraq. An unnamed official stated that al-Qahtani had been arrested after the successful operation which led to the death of the top two Iraq based al-Qaida figures, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.

In the resultant search, details were found in the house of a plan detailing an attack proposed for this years World Cup in South Africa. The plans had been signed by al-Qahtani which led to his subsequent arrest on May 3rd. Iraqi authorities only made the incident public on Monday the 17th of May.

“We discussed the possibility of taking revenge for the insults of the prophet by attacking Denmark and Holland. The goal was to attack the Danish and the Dutch teams and their fans. If we were not able to reach the teams, then we’d target the fans,” al-Qahtani said, adding that they hoped to use guns and car bombs. He also revealed that the plot would still have needed approval by the al-Qaida chain of command, specifically the groups No.2 Ayman al-Zawahri, before anything could have been organised.

Al-Qahtani, who had been captured by US forces in 2007 and held at Camp Bucca in Iraq, stated that upon his release in 2009 he had devised the idea to bomb the World Cup with ‘some friends’ after they had viewed some Western media publications which were deemed offensive to all Muslims. Al-Qahtani stated that the World Cup was targeted for a revenge attack as it was considered a lot easier to access than either of the two offending European countries, Denmark and Holland.”

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