Boko Haram leaders were among
participants in an extensive “conference call” organised by Al Qaeda to plan
massive terrorist attacks. This fact was reported on August 7, 2013, when more
details of the interception by the U.S. intelligence became available.
The data obtained from the ‘conference’ triggered the closure of 20 American
embassies, including four from sub-Saharan Africa countries, namely, Rwanda, Burundi,
Mauritius, and Madagascar.Officials, according to initial media reports, said the decision was taken after communications between al Qaeda leader, Egyptian-born, Ayman Zawahiri, and the group’s leader in Yemen, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, were intercepted last week. From other sources it has been gathered that the discussion between the two al Qaeda leaders was in a conference call that included the leaders or representatives of al Qaeda and its affiliates, who called through a presumably secure network, from different locations.
Three anonymous American operatives reported of more than 20 al Qaeda operatives were on the call.
“Al Qaeda members included representatives or leaders from Nigeria’s Boko Haram, the Pakistani Taliban, al Qaeda in Iraq, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and more obscure al Qaeda affiliates such as the Uzbekistan branch,” the report said. “Also on the call were representatives of aspiring al Qaeda affiliates such as al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, according to a U.S. intelligence official.” “This was like a meeting of the Legion of Doom,” another intelligence officer concluded.
The data obtained from the ‘conference’ triggered the closure of 20 American
embassies, including four from sub-Saharan Africa countries, namely, Rwanda,
Burundi, Mauritius, and Madagascar.
Officials, according to initial media reports, said the decision was
taken after communications between al Qaeda leader, Egyptian-born, Ayman
Zawahiri, and the group’s leader in Yemen, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, were intercepted
last week. From other sources it has been gathered that the discussion between
the two al Qaeda leaders was in a conference call that included the leaders or
representatives of al Qaeda and its affiliates, who called through a presumably
secure network, from different locations.
Three anonymous American operatives reported of more than 20 al Qaeda
operatives were on the call.
“Al Qaeda members included representatives or leaders from Nigeria’s
Boko Haram, the Pakistani Taliban, al Qaeda in Iraq, al Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb, and more obscure al Qaeda affiliates such as the Uzbekistan branch,”
the report said. “Also on the call were representatives of aspiring al Qaeda
affiliates such as al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, according to a U.S.
intelligence official.” “This was like a meeting of the Legion of Doom,”
another intelligence officer concluded.
The report, widely sourced by other U.S. media on Wednesday, reflected
the global reaches of Boko Haram as the Nigerian government struggles back home
to contain the deadly group that has massacred thousands of civilians.
Again, while Boko Haram appears on the U.S. list, the notorious Somali
terror group, Al Shabaab, which operates on the horn of Africa, was not
mentioned, potentially, a measure of Boko Haram’s strategic importance in the
global terror network.
Also during the meeting, the various al Qaeda leaders discussed in vague
terms plans for a pending attack and mentioned that a team or teams were
already in place for such an attack. For some leading members of Congress, the
revelation that al Qaeda’s leadership in Pakistan is actively managing and
directing the operations of several affiliates directly refutes the Obama
administration’s repeated assertion that the leadership of the core of the
group has been decimated by American drone strikes and special operations
forces while the affiliate groups have been strengthened.
Source: Premium Times
