Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered the head of the terrorist group’s Yemen affiliate to carry out an attack, according to intercepted communications that have led to the closure of U.S. embassies and a global travel alert, said a person briefed on the case.
In one communication, Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden, gave “clear orders” to Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the founder of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to undertake an attack, the source said. McClatchy newspapers first reported the exchange on Sunday.
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered the head of the terrorist group’s Yemen affiliate to carry out an attack, according to intercepted communications that have led to the closure of U.S. embassies and a global travel alert, said a person briefed on the case.
In one communication, Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden, gave “clear orders” to Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the founder of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to undertake an attack, the source said. McClatchy newspapers first reported the exchange on Sunday.
Wuhayshi, who was once bin Laden’s personal secretary, recently was elevated by Zawahiri to the number two position in al-Qaeda. That is a sign, analysts said, that Zawahiri is seeking to compensate for the weakness of al-Qaeda’s core group in Pakistan by working more through regional affiliates.
“It’s very worrisome because al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is the most effective and threatening affiliate,” said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert and Georgetown University professor. “So now the leader of the most consequential affiliate has an intimate command role in the overall organization. From Zawahiri’s point of view, there’s no better examplar of the Qaeda brand than AQAP.”
The group has been linked to a foiled plot to bomb a passenger jet bound for Detroit on Christmas Day 2009 as well as one in 2010 to blow up cargo planes with bombs hidden in printer cartridges. Wuhayshi is still thought to be in Yemen and Zawahiri in Pakistan, Hoffman said.
U.S. officials had no new comment on the nature of the plot that shuttered embassies and consulates across the Middle East and Africa.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that the threat “is emanating from and may be directed toward the Arabian Peninsula, but it is beyond that, potentially. And that is why we have taken some of the actions we’ve taken.”
Nineteen embassies and consulates will remain closed at least through Saturday, officials said. Embassies in Afghanistan and Iraq reopened Monday after a closure of one day. Carney said the continued closures of embassies does not reflect new threat information but “is more a reflection of taking necessary precautions.”
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