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| Counterterrorism Blog: Internet Claim for London Terror Attack Likely Hoax |
| 2005-07-07 |
| by Evan Kholman. EFL In the wake of a series of apparent terrorist bombings in London this morning, an entity calling itself "Al-Qaida's Secret Organization" has taken credit for the coordinated attack in a claim posted on an Internet website. . . . The claim (as seen below) was first posted early this morning on the "Fortress" chat board, a long-time meeting place for Islamic extremists and Al-Qaida sympathizers. Within less than two hours of the claim being posted, it was summarily deleted by "Fortress" administrators who quickly issued their own statement explaining that their site "does not allow postings which contain incitement for violence or postings containing statements or news without reference to a formally registered address in the web." However, typically, such postings are actually deleted from the message board not because they incite to violence, but rather because they originate from an illegitimate source. Al-Qaida supporters active on the "Fortress" chat board have likewise expressed their strong doubts over the purported communique from "Al-Qaida's Secret Organization." It should be noted that the language in this latest Internet statement is oddly reminiscent of a series of hoax threats received last summer from an alleged terrorist group calling itself the "Tawheed Islamic Movement." Several credible sources later dismissed those electronic threats as fraudulent, including the designated media representative of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. . . . The Counterterrorism Blog is run by people who seem to know what they're doing, so this theory is worth considering. Of course, the fact that this particular posting might have been a hoax doesn't mean that al-Q didn't do it. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #3 I think the "hoax" part isn't that the owners of that site didn't want it posted, but that the site has no connection with the real perpatrators. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-07-07 13:01 |
| #2 TYPO I guess we are supposed to believe some snot-nosed 14-yr old would-be suicide bomber who yens to hack the pentagon computer did this... Right... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-07-07 12:55 |
| #1 I guess we are supposed to be some snot-nosed 14-yr old would-be suicide bomber who yens to hack the pentagon computer did this... Right... The Counterterrorism Blog is run by people who seem to know what they're doing, so this theory is worth considering. Of course, the fact that this particular posting might have been a hoax doesn't mean that al-Q didn't do it. Yup! |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-07-07 12:53 |