Pakistani Terror Group Threatens Deadly Attacks on New York, Washington DC

The Blaze

Pakistan’s most dangerous terrorist organization, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), has promised it will attack New York and Washington, D.C., in an act of revenge with suicide fighters, according to a newly released video obtained by TheBlaze.

The group also claims responsibility for the most deadly attack in CIA history and the failed bombing of New York’s Times Square.  

The video pays tributes to slain commander Qari Hussain Ahmed, also known as Qari Hussain Mehsud —  known for his suicide squads. He was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2010.

It also has a map of the United States with animated bombs dropping and exploding and warns that fighters who have already been trained have infiltrated NATO countries to continue TTP’s global jihad mission.

“Very soon, our jihad…is reaching New York and Washington; our fidayees will very soon enter NATO countries,” it quotes Hussain Ahmed as saying.

Throughout the video, hooded fighters are shown training in isolated mountains and villages carrying automatic weapons and pistols while also conducting physical combat training. A voice in the background promises revenge for the martyrs.

According to a translation sanctioned by TheBlaze, the terrorist group urges Muslims everywhere to join jihad.

“[W]hatever skills you have, whether you be a Muslim living in a NATO country, or Muslims living in Iraq, New York, or Washington, we invite them to study Islam, recite the Koran, look at its orders, then come to the mujahideen and we will train you, stand in our ranks,” it says.

“After taking training from us, reach every corner of the world, open a front in your region, rise up, the ranks are there, leaders are there; and under the leadership of our Emir-ul-Momineen Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid the mujahideen or the entire world are agreed and united, you too rise up for the establishment of caliphate.”

“I urge you to think – begin jihad against NATO countries, Americans and their allies in their own cities, in their own regions,” it adds. “Whatever skills you may have, whether he be an engineer, into electronics, chemical expert, or of intellectual and logical skills, we invite them to think….”

The video goes beyond just recruiting and promising attacks. The TTP also claim they successfully planned the attacks on a CIA base inside Camp Chapman in Khost, eastern Afghanistan that left seven CIA officers dead in 2009. It also admits to ordering the failed attack in Times Square, New York, and shows Faisal Shahzad, the convicted bomber, saying goodbye to Qari Hussain Ahmed after hugging him.

According to the FBI Shahzad trained in bomb making in Pakistan and this video is direct evidence of his close ties with the TTP, a U.S. Intelligence official told TheBlaze.

This is the first major video released from the TTP since Mehsud’s death in November.

TheBlaze obtained the one-hour-and-five-minute video on Friday from a Pakistani citizen living in Peshawar, who has asked to remain anonymous for fear of his life. It was also obtained by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Saturday, said executive director of MEMRI Steve Stalinsky. Stalinsky sent the translation to TheBlaze.

Jihadi websites began posting the video late Sunday night. TheBlaze waited to publish the story until a complete translation could be provided.

The video was produced by the Umar Media, which is the media company of the TTP.

The video opens with a verse from the Koran which says,”among the faithful are many who have made true of their promise made to Allah; so many of them fulfilled their promise (got martyred) and there are many who are waiting [to do so]; and they haven’t change their promise (Chapter Al-Ahzab, Verse 23),” according to the MEMRI translation.

Hussain Ahmed is described with such titles as the teacher of Islam’s martyrdom seekers, great commander, epoch-making personality, mountain of steadfastness, and one of the founding leaders of the TTP, the translation states. They also refer to Yasin Baba, Hussain Ahmed’s father, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in South Waziristan.

TheBlaze has learned the FBI is aware of the video. We reached out to the agency and are awaiting a response.

But a U.S. official contacted by TheBlaze downplayed the group’s ability to carry out the plot.

“TTP aspires to conduct attacks against the West, but the group is much more capable of striking local targets in Pakistan, where TTP is principally focused,” the official said. “However, if a Western passport holder — someone like Times Square bomber Faisal Shazhad – were to approach the group and offer his services, the TTP probably wouldn’t turn him away.”

That official also said the group is fracturing.

“TTP is increasingly factionalized, and the appointment of Mullah Fazlullah – the first non-Mehsud clan leader to command the group – may accelerate this trend,” the official said.

You can view the video below that has now been posted on YouTube:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/23/blaze-exclusive-pakistani-terror-group-threatens-deadly-attacks-on-new-york-washington-d-c/