Al-Qaeda Threatens German Post Election Attack

Via Shimron Letters -

A senior al Qaeda leader has threatened to attack Germany just days before the nation will go to the polls to choose a new Chancellor.

Bekkay Harrach, alias Al Hafidh Abu Talha al Almani, resurfaced Friday in a chilling new video produced by al Qaeda's al Fajr Media Center and distributed across the major jihadi Web forums.

Dressed in an ill-fitting black blazer, blue tie, and shoulder-length greased hair - looking more like a teenager dressed for his first job interview - he slammed Germany for its military presence in Afghanistan and warned that if Chancellor Angela Merkel is reelected on Sept. 27, Germany will be directly attacked.

His previous warning to Germany, on Jan. 17, 2009, coincided with a massive car bomb attack on the heavily guarded German embassy in Kabul that was orchestrated by the notorious Haqqani Network. Four Afghan civilians and an American soldier died in the attack.

"The vote on September 27 is more than a choice between a man and a woman," he warned in the new video, which was acquired by the Long War Journal.
"As an old aphorism says, 'Security is foremost.'

In the democratic system, only the people can return the soldiers to their homeland. If the people insist on continuing the war (in Afghanistan), they sentence themselves to retaliation and clearly show the world that civilians in the democratic system are not innocent people."

He addressed Germany's Muslim community and said

"(S)tay clear of all that is not necessary in the two weeks of the elections if the German people did not decide to withdraw its soldiers from Afghanistan.

Keep your children near you at this time. Ask God to bless you and your children."

"The city of Kiel," he continued inexplicably, "will remain a safe city no matter how long the conflict in Germany. This is a promise from me."

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More on this story and Bekkay Harrach can be found over at The Long War Journal...

Harrach is a 32-year-old Moroccan whose family emigrated to Germany when he was two years old; he became a naturalized German citizen in 1997.

Harrach has become a rising star in al Qaeda's new generation and is reportedly on its shura council for global strikes. Reports suggest that his travels are tracked by intelligence agencies, however, according to Spiegel Online, he is directly protected by Siraj Haqqani and his deadly network.