Al Qaeda Planning New Attack on U.S., Member Says
Reuters Friday, May 9, 2003; 12:53 PM
DUBAI (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda has reorganized and is planning an operation against the United States similar to the September 11 attacks, a member of the Islamic militant group has told an Arabic magazine.
In the article in Sunday's edition of the London-based weekly al-Majalla, made available in advance to Reuters, an al Qaeda "media coordinator" named as Thabet bin Qais also said that striking the U.S. consulate in Karachi was not a priority.
Washington said last week that al Qaeda was in the late stages of planning an aerial suicide attack on the consulate in Karachi when Pakistani authorities broke up a cell in the city last month and arrested six al Qaeda members.
"(The U.S. consulate) does not necessarily form a pressing target and striking it is not a priority for the organisation compared to the plans being made now for a strike of the size of the September 11 attacks in the United States," the prominent Saudi-owned magazine said, quoting bin Qais indirectly.
"He (bin Qais) stressed that the strike on America is definitely coming," it said, adding that bin Qais had said the movement had changed its structure after the September 11 attacks.
Around 3,000 people died when suicide plane hijackers attacked targets in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. Washington says the attacks were carried out by al Qaeda, led by Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden.
"We in al Qaeda are cold toward news that talks about the Americans uncovering new plans or arrests of leaders," bin Qais was quoted as saying in direct speech. "We ignore these because we know that the Americans are moving in the expected direction. Their moves are very traditional," he said.
"Al Qaeda is still way ahead of the Americans and their allies in the intelligence war," bin Qais added in the comments, which al-Majalla said he sent to them via email.
