Al-Qaida Pursues New Home in Syria: U.S. Officials
Al-Qaida Pursues New Home in Syria: U.S. Officials – Global Security Newswire.
Al-Qaida operatives may be infiltrating Syria to establish a staging ground for new attacks against the West, the New York Times reports.
U.S. intelligence and antiterrorism specialists believe Syria has seen an influx of mid-ranking and other veteran al-Qaida members from Pakistan in past months, the newspaper said on Tuesday. The concern emerged as secret intelligence findings hinted at possible work by Ayman al-Zawahiri and other al-Qaida commanders to prepare a more sophisticated strategy for tracking down and taking in Syrian rebel fighters from Western countries.
The terror group could exploit Syria to “recruit individuals and develop the capability to be able not just to carry out attacks inside of Syria, but also to use Syria as a launching pad,” CIA Director John Brennan told members of the House of Representatives.
Antiterrorism personnel said the possible initiative could reinvigorate al-Qaida’s central organization, and give the group its first safe haven beyond Pakistan’s borders for plotting strikes against the West.
Still, certain U.S. allies have differed on whether the growing al-Qaida presence they see in Syria is part of a broader plan to launch attacks against international targets.
“At this stage, it’s a lot less organized than a directed plan,” a Western security insider said. “Some fighters are going to Syria, but they’re going on an ad hoc basis, not at an organized level.”
One U.S. insider suggested Zawahiri might currently be “soft-pedaling” activities in Syria “to consolidate al-Qaida’s position for the future.”
“There is going to be push and pull between local operatives and al-Qaida central on attack planning,” the source said. “How fast the pendulum will swing toward trying something isn’t clear right now.”
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