Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula recently released a statement on jihadist forums taking credit for the recent parcel bomb plot. Interestingly enough, AQAP also claimed it detonated a UPS plane over Dubai on Sept. 3, and accused the Obama administration of hiding the attack. From the AQAP statement, which was obtained by LWJ:
We ask: Why did the enemy not clarify what had happened with the UPS plane that was downed? Is it because the enemy had not discovered the cause for the fall of the airplane, or because the Obama administration wanted to hide the incident so that their security failure would not be revealed, especially because the operation was just before the American midterm elections?
We say to Obama: We have directed three strikes at your planes within one year [the third attack being the failed “underpants bomb” over Detriot on Christmas Day, 2009], and we will continue, by the grace of God, to direct our strikes against American interests and the interests of her allies.
AQAP’s statement also provides some clever propaganda. The terror group claims that it intended to both blow up the UPS/FedEx planes in flight and detonate the packages as they arrived at the offices of Jewish groups in the US. And, the group argues, because the Saudis intervened in foiling the plot, they are complicit in aiding the Jews:
By the grace of God, our advanced package explosive granted us the opportunity to detonate it in the air or after arrival to its final target. It was designed to cross all detectors. We say to the Saudi family: God has revealed your collaboration with the Jews, for those packages were bound for Jewish Zionist synagogues. You interfered, with your treachery, to protect them. May the curse of God be upon the oppressors.
