Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has released the 12th issue of their magazine Sada Al-Malahim. Most of the issue is devoted to the Christmas Day attack, Fort Hood, and the recent campaigns against AQAP strongholds in Yemen's Shabwa, Abyan, and Ma'rib governorates.
The title article, "Umar Al-Farouq's Attack: Details and Results," was written by a certain "Talib Al-Hayqa'a," apparently a nom de plume meaning "one who seeks the clanging of swords." The article opens with the text of Osama bin Laden's one-minute audio statement on the Christmas Day attack, then explains why the Christmas Day plot was planned in the way that it was, and details why AQAP views it as a success despite the bomb's failure to go off.
At the end of the article, the author explains the advantages of the "individual jihad" method. He writes that individual jihad can be conducted either through the recruitment of an individual to carry out a centrally-planned operation (e.g. Abdulmutallab), or through direction and guidance from afar (e.g. Maj. Nidal Hasan), and says these attacks should be the model for future operations. He then closes by warning America and the West that AQAP has many martyrdom-seekers awaiting their turn.
AQAP's focus on the advantages of "individual jihad" is not new. Prior to the Fort Hood and Christmas Day attacks, the Emir of AQAP Nasir Al-Wahishi had published an article in Sada Al-Malahim offering the organization's assistance to individuals wishing to carry out terror attacks.
