allvoices
Monday, June 03, 2013
Al-Qaida’s military chief, Qassim al-Rimi, has warned the United
States of more terror attacks, saying in an audio tape that security of
the US is fragile and militants can easily strike at the places of their
choosing. Al-Rimi, the military chief of al-Qaida in Arabian Peninsula,
said in his message that tools to make bombs like the ones used in the
twin blasts in Boston are easily accessible. It should be noted here
that in Boston bombings, a pressure cooker was used as a bomb, which
ultimately wreaked havoc. In the audio message titled “A letter
to the American people,” the al-Qaeda chief said that the recent
bombings in Boston and letters laced with ricin to the White House were a
glaring example of fragile security of the United States. He, however,
did not accept responsibility of the mentioned incidents. He urged
American Muslims to carry out terror activities in the United States and
be steadfast in their religion, Islam. The United States invaded
Afghanistan in October 2001 following incidents of September 11 in order
to eliminate militants and terrorists linked to al-Qaida and the
Taliban. It has been around 12 years since the war against terrorism and
militancy started, but the terrorists are yet to be eliminated.
Indeed, hundreds of high-profile al-Qaida and the Taliban terrorists
have been killed in different operations in Afghanistan and in drone
strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, but even then the world still
stands prone to terrorist attacks. The United States on May 2, 2011,
succeeded in killing terror kingpin Osama bin Laden in a secretive
operation in Abbottabad, a garrison city that is some 130 kilometers
from federal capital Islamabad. A team of US Navy Seals carried out the
operation and killed bin Laden on the spot. However, al-Rimi said in his
message to the American people that killings of bin Laden and
Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki had not ended their struggle.
He said the US had failed to eliminate terror groups. He even claimed
that militant outfits were more robust than ever. Al-Rimi further said
militant outfits had access to the United States and could easily target
any US city. It should be noted here that this is not first message of
its kind to the American people. Different militant groups keep posting
their audio and video messages on different social militant forums.
However, the Obama administration should take these threats from
al-Qaida’s military chief seriously and take steps to further strengthen
security of the country.