ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Al-QaedaAn Air Force RQ-1 Predator pilotless aircraft, capable of launching Hellfire air-to-ground missiles in CIA operations similar to the pin-point missile strike thatkilled Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, a top al-Qaeda operative, in Yemen on November 4, 2002. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS.also plotted to carry out terrorist operations against U.S.and Israeli tourists visiting Jordan for millennial celebrationsin late 1999. (Jordanian authorities thwarted theplanned attacks and put 28 suspects on trial.) In December,2001, suspected al-Qaeda associate Richard ColvinReid attempted to ignite a shoe bomb on a transatlanticflight from Paris to Miami.Al-Qaeda may have several thousand members andassociates in cells located around the world, and alsoserves as a focal point or umbrella organization for aworldwide network that includes many Sunni Islamic extremistgroups, some members of al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya,the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Harakat ul-Mujahidin.Al-Qaeda has cells worldwide and is reinforced by itsties to Sunni extremist networks. Coalition attacks onAfghanistan since October 2001 have dismantled theTaliban—once al-Qaeda’s protectors—and led to the capture,death, or dispersal of al-Qaeda operatives. Al-Qaedamembers at large, including as of April 2003, Osama binLadin, have vowed to attempt to carry out future attacksagainst U.S. interests.Bin Ladin, member of a billionaire family that ownsthe Bin Ladin Group construction empire, is said to haveEncyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Securityinherited tens of millions of dollars that he uses to helpfinance the group. Al-Qaeda also maintains moneymakingfront businesses, solicits donations from like-mindedsupporters, and illicitly siphons funds from donations toMuslim charitable organizations. U.S. efforts to block al-Qaeda funding has hampered their ability to obtain money.❚ FURTHER READING:ELECTRONIC:Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook, 2002. (April 16, 2003).Taylor, Francis X. U.S. Department of State. Patterns ofGlobal Terrorism 2001, Annual Report: On the recordbriefing. May 21, 2002 (April 17,2003).U.S. Department of State. Annual reports. (April 16, 2003).SEE ALSOTerrorism, Philosophical and Ideological OriginsTerrorist and Para-State Organizations27