A senior U.S. law enforcement official has told CNN that U.S. intelligence believes the principal author of the new online al Qaeda magazine is an American citizen who left for Yemen in October 2009.
The magazine — called “Inspire” — appeared last week. Running to nearly 70 pages online, it included articles on bomb-making and encrypting electronic messages, as well as an interview with fugitive Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al Awlaki.
The source has identified the driving force behind “Inspire” as 23-year-old Samir Khan, who previously lived in North Carolina and was involved in radical Islamist blogs, including one he ran called “Jihad Recollections.” The source says Khan traveled to Yemen on a round-trip ticket but has not come back to the United States.
Before moving to North Carolina, Khan lived in the New York area. U.S. law enforcement officials say he attended meetings of the Islamic Thinkers Society, but was not a central figure in the group. The Islamic Thinkers Society says its mission is to achieve the ideal Islamic society. On its website, it says: “Our struggle is always intellectual [and] political non-violent means.”
via U.S. citizen believed to be writing for al Qaeda website, source says – CNN.com.
