Just $4,200 to trigger global alert over parcel bomb: al-Qaeda

Vowing to bleed its enemy to death by "a thousand cuts," 'Inspire', the English-language online magazine of al-Qaeda in Yemen, dedicates its latest issue to the plot, which it calls "Operation Hemorrhage."

"The operation has succeeded in achieving its objectives. We thank Allah for His blessings," says the magazine, adding the cost of sending the parcel bombs was just USD 4,200.

The article details al-Qaeda's claim of responsibility for the October plot to ship bombs disguised as printer toner cartridges on cargo planes.

On October 29, local authorities in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates intercepted parcel bombs sent from Yemen and addressed to US synagogues.
Al-Qaeda bomb-makers designed the parcel bombs to pass through detection devices and elude sniffer dogs, according to the article.

The magazine also repeats a controversial claim of responsibility for the September 3 crash of a UPS flight in Dubai, which killed two crew members, CNN reported.
No evidence has surfaced of an explosion aboard the UPS cargo plane that crashed in September, officials in the United Arab Emirates have said. But authorities there have also said they are seriously looking into the claim of al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula.
Inspire praises the 9/11 attacks on the United States for their destruction and the high number of lives they took. But it touts smaller, simpler attacks for the future.

"It is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve less players and less time to launch and thus we may circumvent the security barriers America worked so hard to erect," Inspire writes, calling this "the strategy of a thousand cuts."

Inspire says the strategy raises the cost of security in target countries, particularly the US, putting a further drag on an already weakened economy.

The article also directs a message at US President Barack Obama and points out that terrorists had addressed the parcel bombs to synagogues "in Chicago, Obama's city."
"We have struck against your aircraft twice within one year," Inspire writes, "and we will continue directing our blows towards your interests and the interests of your allies."
Intelligence officials believe Samir Khan, an American citizen now living in Yemen, is the driving force behind the magazine.