Terror threat

Al Qaeda Supporters Launch Twitter Campaign Urging Attacks On US

Although ISIS typically takes the spotlight, other terrorist organizations continue to pose a threat to the United States. Earlier this month, Al Qaeda supporters launched a Twitter campaign urging Muslims to carry out lone-wolf attacks on the US homeland, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

On April 1, 2016, an Al Qaeda supporter on Twitter named Abu Abd Al Kareem Al Gharbi launched a campaign titled “America, the Head of the Snake,” with the goal “to renew the spirit of jihad in the Ummah.”

Al Gharbi, who uses the handle @w3y_jhdy, also encouraged participants to post tweets and disseminate jihadi clips and materials to encourage Muslims to wage jihad against the United States and to refute counter-jihad arguments.

Sheikh Omar Al Rahal, who uses the Twitter handle @ghubrmrk7, is the campaign coordinator. He encouraged campaign followers to stop using the US dollar, focus on destroying the United States instead of ISIS, and expressed his wish that Hamas's Al Qassam Brigades would carry out an attack that would weaken the US economy.