terrorism news stories on Newser

Clinton: We Hacked Yemeni al-Qaeda Sites

Rob Quinn — Thu, 24 May 2012 02:54:11 CDT

Al-Qaeda has issued a call for "electronic jihad," but it looks like the terror group has been outgunned by State Department experts. Hillary Clinton, speaking at the Special Operations Command gala dinner last night, said that American specialists had hacked into al-Qaeda sites in Yemen that "bragged about killing Americans,...

Doctors Abducted in Afghanistan

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:12:41 CDT

Two foreign doctors and their three Afghan colleagues have been kidnapped in a remote area in the extreme northeast Afghanistan, officials said today. The kidnapping occurred yesterday as the group was traveling on horseback between Yaftal and Ragh districts about 56 miles from the provincial capital of Faizabad, a Badakhshan...

Al-Qaeda Calls for 'Electronic Jihad'

Rob Quinn — Wed, 23 May 2012 02:41:00 CDT

Al-Qaeda compares flaws in America's cybersecurity to gaps in aviation security before the 9/11 attacks in a chilling video released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security. In the video, which was obtained by the FBI last year, an al-Qaeda operative calls for "electronic jihad" against the US with attacks...

Deadly Blasts Rock Damascus, Syrian Intel HQ

Kevin Spak — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:38:00 CDT

At least 50 people were killed and some 370 wounded in two huge, nearly simultaneous bomb blasts in Damascus today, targeting the headquarters of the feared "Palestinian Branch" intelligence services, Syrian officials said. The bombs hit the busy al-Qazaz district, and according to an AP reporter on the scene, one...

FBI: Anarchists Tried to Trigger Fake Bombs

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:12:13 CDT

The five men charged with plotting to blow up an Ohio bridge actually did attempt to detonate what they believed were real explosives, the FBI alleges. The men, unknowingly working with an FBI informant, repeatedly tried to use a text-message detonation code to blow up the fake bombs, which they...

New York Man Convicted in Subway Bomb Plot

Matt Cantor — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:20:52 CDT

A New York man has been found guilty in a 2009 subway bomb plot . Adis Medunjanin, who was also convicted of training with al-Qaeda and seeking to join the Taliban, could receive life in prison, the New York Daily News reports. The conviction comes after fellow plotters Zarein Ahmedzay and...

Feds: 5 Anarchists Plotted to Bomb Ohio Bridge

Kevin Spak — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:51:36 CDT

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested five men yesterday for their role in an alleged plot to blow up a bridge near Cleveland, officials revealed today. This isn't a case of international terrorism; at least three of the men are home-grown, self-proclaimed "anarchists," officials said, according to Fox News...

Al-Qaeda Plots Embedded in Porn

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:18:00 CDT

Extensive al-Qaeda terror plots were discovered embedded in a very un-Islamic spot: a porn movie. Plans for seizing cruise ships and European attacks similar to the assault on Mumbai were among the plots found on a digital storage device and memory cards that included a porn video called Kick Ass...

Officials Watching for 'Body Bombs' on Planes

Rob Quinn — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:40:44 CDT

As the anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden looms, security for US-bound flights has been stepped up around the world. While authorities say that there is no specific information of an impending attack timed for the anniversary, one threat that officials are watching for is "body bombs"...