Blaze Exclusive: Pakistani Terror Group Threatens Deadly Attacks on New York, Washington, D.C.
Pakistan’s most dangerous terrorist
organization, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), has promised it will attack
New York and Washington, D.C., in an act of revenge with suicide
fighters, according to a newly released video obtained by TheBlaze.
The group also claims responsibility
for the most deadly attack in CIA history and the failed bombing of New
York’s Times Square.
The video pays tributes to slain
commander Qari Hussain Ahmed, also known as Qari Hussain Mehsud — known
for his suicide squads. He was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2010.
It also has a map of the United States
with animated bombs dropping and exploding and warns that fighters who
have already been trained have infiltrated NATO countries to continue
TTP’s global jihad mission.
“Very soon, our jihad…is reaching New
York and Washington; our fidayees will very soon enter NATO countries,”
it quotes Hussain Ahmed as saying.
Throughout the video, hooded fighters
are shown training in isolated mountains and villages carrying automatic
weapons and pistols while also conducting physical combat training. A
voice in the background promises revenge for the martyrs.
According to a translation sanctioned by TheBlaze, the terrorist group urges Muslims everywhere to join jihad.
“[W]hatever skills you have, whether
you be a Muslim living in a NATO country, or Muslims living in Iraq, New
York, or Washington, we invite them to study Islam, recite the Koran,
look at its orders, then come to the mujahideen and we will train you,
stand in our ranks,” it says.
“After taking training from us, reach
every corner of the world, open a front in your region, rise up, the
ranks are there, leaders are there; and under the leadership of our
Emir-ul-Momineen Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid the mujahideen or the
entire world are agreed and united, you too rise up for the
establishment of caliphate.”
“I urge you to think – begin jihad
against NATO countries, Americans and their allies in their own cities,
in their own regions,” it adds. “Whatever skills you may have, whether
he be an engineer, into electronics, chemical expert, or of intellectual
and logical skills, we invite them to think….”
The video goes beyond just recruiting
and promising attacks. The TTP also claim they successfully planned the
attacks on a CIA base inside Camp Chapman in Khost, eastern Afghanistan
that left seven CIA officers dead in 2009. It also admits to ordering
the failed attack in Times Square, New York, and shows Faisal Shahzad,
the convicted bomber, saying goodbye to Qari Hussain Ahmed after hugging
him.
According to the FBI Shahzad trained
in bomb making in Pakistan and this video is direct evidence of his
close ties with the TTP, a U.S. Intelligence official told TheBlaze.
This is the first major video released from the TTP since Mehsud’s death in November.
TheBlaze obtained the
one-hour-and-five-minute video on Friday from a Pakistani citizen living
in Peshawar, who has asked to remain anonymous for fear of his life. It
was also obtained by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
on Saturday, said executive director of MEMRI Steve Stalinsky. Stalinsky
sent the translation to TheBlaze.
Jihadi websites began posting the
video late Sunday night. TheBlaze waited to publish the story until a
complete translation could be provided.
The video was produced by the Umar Media, which is the media company of the TTP.
The video opens with a verse from the
Koran which says,”among the faithful are many who have made true of
their promise made to Allah; so many of them fulfilled their promise
(got martyred) and there are many who are waiting [to do so]; and they
haven’t change their promise (Chapter Al-Ahzab, Verse 23),” according to
the MEMRI translation.
Hussain Ahmed is described with such
titles as the teacher of Islam’s martyrdom seekers, great commander,
epoch-making personality, mountain of steadfastness, and one of the
founding leaders of the TTP, the translation states. They also refer to
Yasin Baba, Hussain Ahmed’s father, who was killed in a U.S. drone
strike in South Waziristan.
TheBlaze has learned the FBI is aware of the video. We reached out to the agency and are awaiting a response.
But a U.S. official contacted by TheBlaze downplayed the group’s ability to carry out the plot.
“TTP aspires to conduct attacks
against the West, but the group is much more capable of striking local
targets in Pakistan, where TTP is principally focused,” the official
said. “However, if a Western passport holder — someone like Times Square
bomber Faisal Shazhad – were to approach the group and offer his
services, the TTP probably wouldn’t turn him away.”
That official also said the group is fracturing.
“TTP is increasingly factionalized,
and the appointment of Mullah Fazlullah – the first non-Mehsud clan
leader to command the group – may accelerate this trend,” the official
said.
You can view the video below that has now been posted on YouTube:
Today’s BlazeCast discussion about this disturbing story:
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