Al Qaeda Magazine Found in Guantanamo Cell, Prosecutor Says
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John Moore/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — An issue of a terrorist magazine produced by an al Qaeda affiliate somehow made its way into a cell in Guantanamo Bay, supposedly one of the most secure detention centers in the world, a U.S. military prosecutor revealed Wednesday.
The disclosure was made during a pre-trial hearing for Adb al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind behind the deadly bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Seventeen American sailors were killed in the attack. Nashiri was captured in 2002.
Navy prosecutor Cmdr. Andrea Lockhart did not claim the magazine was al-Nashiri’s but told a military judge Wednesday about the offending material while arguing over policies concerning mail screening between terror suspects and their attorneys. Lockhart did not say how or where exactly the magazine was discovered, nor did she say which issue of the magazine it was.
The English-language magazine, called Inspire, had been produced by al Qaeda’s Yemen-based branch, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and was believed to have been put together by an American-born AQAP member named Samir Khan. The magazine, which spanned several issues, featured lectures from terror leaders as well as instructional guides for everything from how to shoot an AK-47 to “How to Build a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.”
In the magazine’s last issue, which surfaced in September, Khan promised an upcoming interview with high-profile al Qeada cleric and recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki called “Targeting the Populations of Countries That Are at War With the Muslims.” The promotional ad for the article used New York’s Grand Central Station as a background.
But both Awlaki and Khan were killed in a drone strike just days after the announcement. No further issues of Inspire have apparently surfaced online since.
Al-Nashiri, believed to be one of al Qaeda’s top commanders, was captured in 2002 but was in CIA custody, reportedly at a secret prison, until he was transferred to Guantanamo in 2006.
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