From: danjr at voyager.net (danjr)
Subject: Al Qaida claims responsibility for blackout


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Al Qaida claims responsibility for blackout

World Tribune
Monday, August 18, 2003

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_5.html

Al Qaida's Abu Hafs Brigades has claimed responsibility for the 
blackout last week in the Northeast and Midwest United States. A 
communiqu? by the Abu Hafs Brigades made reference to Operation Quick 
Lightning in the Land of the Tyrant of this Generation."

It was published as "the third communiqu? by the "Brigades."

In the first, they accepted responsibility for the downing of an 
airplane in Kenya. The second accepted responsibility for the Jakarta 
bombing of the Marriott hotel on August 5, 2003.

The new communiqu? says that in compliance with the orders of Osama bin 
Laden to strike at the American economy, the Brigades struck two 
important electricity supply targets on the East coast, according to 
the Middle East Media Research Institute. The Brigades say that they 
cannot reveal how they did it, because they will probably have to use 
the same method again soon. The communiqu? also claimed that the 
operation was meant as a present for the Iraqi people.

The following are excerpts from a report by the London-based Arabic 
daily Al-Hayat about the communiqu?: [1]

The Blackout was 'a Realization of Bin Laden's promise to offer the 
Iraqi people a present'

"A communiqu? attributed to Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the 
power blackout that happened in the U.S. last Thursday, saying that the 
brigades of Abu Fahes Al Masri had hit two main power plants supplying 
the East of the U.S., as well as major industrial cities in the U.S. 
and Canada, 'its ally in the war against Islam (New York and Toronto) 
and their neighbors.'

"The communiqu? assured that the operation 'was carried out on the 
orders of Osama bin Laden to hit the pillars of the U.S. economy,' 
as 'a realization of bin Laden's promise to offer the Iraqi people a 
present.'

'The Americans lived a black day they will never forget'

"The statement, which Al-Hayat obtained from the website of the 
International Islamic Media Center, didn't specify the way the alleged 
sabotage was carried out. The communiqu? read: 'let the criminal Bush 
and his gang know that the punishment is the result of the action, the 
soldiers of God cut the power on these cities, they darkened the lives 
of the Americans as these criminals blackened the lives of the Muslim 
people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. The Americans lived a black 
day they will never forget. They lived a day of terror and fear. a 
state of chaos and confusion where looting and pillaging rampaged the 
cities, just like the capital of the caliphate Baghdad, and Afghanistan 
and Palestine were. Let the American people take a sip from the same 
glass.'

'The U.S. will not live in peace until our conditions are met'

"It added: 'we heard amazing statements made by the American and 
Canadian enemies which have nuclear physics universities and space 
agencies, that lightning hit and destroyed the two plants. And we are 
supposed to believe this nonsense. If the blackout occurred in one or 
two cities, their lie would have been credible. But the fact is that 
the blackout hit the entire East and part of Canada.'

"The communiqu? continued: 'one of the benefits of this strike is that 
the U.S. will not live in peace until our conditions are met, such as 
releasing all the detainees including Sheikh Omar Abdulrahman, and 
getting out of the land of the Muslims, including Jerusalem and 
Kashmir.'

"The authors of the communiqu? said that the strikes aimed at 'hitting 
the major pillar of the U.S. economy (the Stock Exchange). [and] the 
UN, which is opposed to Islam, and is based in New York. It is a 
message to all the investors that the U.S. is no longer a safe country 
for their money, knowing that the U.S. economy greatly relies on the 
trust of the investor.'

'The gift of Sheikh Osama Bin Laden is on its way to the White House'

"The communiqu? mentioned that some economists said the blackout in the 
U.S. and Canada would cost the U.S. Treasury no less than ten billion 
U.S. dollars and in order to 'break the hearts of U.S. officials, just 
know that the cost paid by the Moujahideen to sabotage the power plants 
was a mere seven thousand dollars. Die of sorrow!'

"The communiqu? ended with: 'we tell the Muslims that this is not the 
awaited strike, but it is called the war of skirmishes (to drain the 
enemy), and that the American snakes are enormous and need to be 
consumed and weakened to be destroyed. We tell the people of 
Afghanistan and Kashmir that the gift of Sheikh Osama bin Laden is on 
its way to the White House; then the gift of Al Aqsa, and do we know 
what is the gift of Al Aqsa, where and when? The answer is what you are 
seeing!'

[1] Published in English on Dar Al-Hayat website, August 18, 2003,
http://english.daralhayat.com/arab_news/08-2003/Article-20030818-
14bdd659-c0a8-01ed-0079-6e1c903b7552/story.html

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