Al-Qaeda Sees Bulgaria as 'Legitimate Target'

Bulgaria is a legitimate target of al-Qaeda because it has sent its soldiers to support the US invaders in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Lebanon-based Sunni extremist group Asbat al-Ansar has announced.

In an interview for the Bulgarian daily "
24 Hours,"
Sheikh Abu Sharif, the spokesman of Asbat al-Ansar, has threatened the Bulgarian government to pull out its troops from Afghanistan before it is too late.

His statement was made in Ayn al-Hilwah Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon in the presence of the leader Haytham Abd Al-Karim Al Sa'di, aka Abu Tariq.

"
We have to be very vigilant when receiving a warning, coming from an extremist organization like this one,"
said the director of the National Intelligence Service (NRS), Kircho Kirov.

The warning from Asbat al-Ansar came after the Bulgarian Minister of Defence, Anyu Angelov, announced that there are plans to dispatch a 700-strong combat unit to boost its troops in Afghanistan as of 2013.

At present, the Bulgarian contingents in Afghanistan, numbering 600 troops, are based in three locations – Kabul, Kandahar and Herat.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, has denied Angelov's statement. However, the two ministries came out with one statement, regarding the threats.

"
Our participation in various mission makes us part of the common threats, which are directed not only towards us, but also to all other countries that have military forces abroad. Therefore, although we currently do not have a specific information for a direct threat, we should be very vigilant,"
the statement said.

Asbat al-Ansar is featured in the United States' list of terrorist organizations for alleged connections with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda. The leader of the group is Ahmad Abdel Karim al-Saadi, aka Abu Mahjan. After he went underground in 1999, his brother, Abu Tariq, has fronted the group.

The organization believes in a strict interpretation of Islam. It employs a "
defensive jihad"
to fight perceived attacks on Islam. As such, the group seeks to purge any Western influences or anything deemed un-Islamic from Lebanon.

In 2004, Asbat al-Ansar voiced vocal condemnation of the US presence in Iraq and urged insurgents to kill US personnel.

The group has also cooperated with another organization, al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, which was responsible for the beheading of the Bulgarian truck drivers Ivaylo Kepov and Georgi Lazov in July 2004.

Bulgaria's Ministry of Defence and Foreign Ministry have announced they were taking the threats very seriously.

"
Such warnings are a practice of all terrorist organizations that are connected to al-Qaeda. But they cannot dissuade out determination, and the will of the entire international community, to help the Afghan people and to support the building of stable institutions for governance and security in the country,"
the ministries have announced.

According to Mohd Abuasi, an expert from the Bulgarian Centre for Middle East Studies, Bulgaria is not a priority for al-Qaeda or other jihad organizations because they do not know much about it, but there is a real possibility that they start paying attention to it.

"
Some officials' make statements that sound anti-Islam, like the statements by the minister of defence that Syria and Iran are a threat to the country. Also, the ridiculous police operations against Muslims in the Rhodopes are absolutely groundless and only create tension. If this continues, terrorist organizations will start looking at Bulgaria as a target,"
Abuasi said.

[size=55:3m9cm5ht]AOL news

Bin Laden killed in US operation

Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, is dead, US president Barack Obama has announced.

The man who was the inspiration for countless acts of terror from the September 11 outrage to the July 7 London bombings was killed in a US operation in Pakistan.

He was holed up not in the mountains of Afghanistan but in a two-storey house a stone's throw from a Pakistani army base in Abbottabad, about 50 miles from the capital Islamabad.

David Cameron welcomed the development, saying it would "
bring great relief to people across the world"
. He added: "
It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror."


Jubilant crowds flocked to the White House and to Ground Zero in New York where the twin towers of the World Trade Centre stood until they were destroyed by two hijacked jets on September 11, 2001.

Relatives of al Qaida victims in the UK also welcomed the news. Nigel Thompson, who worked as a stockbroker with Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Centre, died at the age of 33.

His father Norman, from Sheffield, said: "
I'm pleased, definitely. It doesn't bring our son back - we've lost him. People talk of closure. There's no such thing as closure because we have it every day. It's one of those difficult things. It would bring justice, definitely, but certainly no closure. It's an every day trial for us."


Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "
For the victims of 9/11 and their families, nothing can take away the pain of what happened but this will provide an important sense of justice."


Pakistan's High Commissioner in London Wajid Shamsul Hasan insisted that the country's authorities were not aware of bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad prior to the attack. Mr Hasan told BBC Radio 5 Live: "
Nobody knew that Osama bin Laden was there - no security agency, no Pakistani authorities knew about it. Had we known it we would have done it ourselves."


Later, two Obama administration officials said DNA evidence has proven that bin Laden is dead, with 99.9% confidence. The officials did not say where or how the testing was done but the test explains why President Obama was confident to announce the death to the world.

It was only a matter of time before this ******* was found.

DNA Tests Confirm Osama Bin Laden's Death

Obama Administration officials have revealed that the US has now completed DNA tests showing with 100% certainty that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed.

The officials did not immediately say where or how the testing was done, but the test explains why President Obama was confident to announce bin Laden's death to the world Sunday night.

What is more, CIA's facial recognition technology has identified Bin Laden's face with 95% certainty, according to a US government official as cited by NBC.

World's No. 1 terrorist Osama bin Laden was shot dead by US forces in Pakistan on Sunday after he had been for the September 11 attacks for almost 10 years.

A senior U.S. official told Fox News that a Navy SEAL from Team Six, a top military counter-terrorism unit, identified Bin Laden by his face. The official said the Al Qaeda leader did not appear to be ravaged or starved from his years in hiding, saying it appeared Bin Laden had been living well.

The official also said the SEALs used "
facial recognition pulls"
to confirm Bin Laden's identity on site by comparing his height, ears, nose and mouth to known photos of him.

The official said the White House is still deciding on when and how to released the photo of Bin Laden to avoid any conspiracy theories about his death. The official said it is believed that only the U.S. is in possession of the photo.

Asked how the sea burial of Osama bin Laden complies with Islamic law, officials say the Koran is not specific to burial - as long as the body of the diseased is cleansed quickly;
there is no single authoritative Islamic text on burial, NBC reported.

Although I never condone violence with violence in this case I think its what was needed and I think the world will be a better place without this sort.

I personally am upset by the "
scenes of jubilation"
from America, being shown on TV. Does that not make the USA as bad as the terrorists?

Yes he had to be curbed in whatever way was possible - but with the threat of death hanging over him for so many years surely someone is ready, willing and waiting to step straight into his shoes.

I would not be surprised if some cell is plotting a retaliation attack right now. I also would not have been surprised if an extremist had gone to where the celebrations are and let off some sort of device.

There is the little matter of who knew "
Bin"
has hiding in Pakistan, only 800 metres away from their version of "
Sandhurst"
. There are various rumours in the Press of who knew about it all and does it go all the way to the top. It would appear that the US and other Nato members were kept in the dark of his whereabouts for 10 years. The UK have donated many millions of £s to Pakistan and only recently donated another £650m when our own citizens are struggling to hold a roof over their heads. It will be interesting to see the accusations flying in a few days from now!!