PARIS?Al-Qaeda urged Muslims in western countries to weld steel blades to heavy SUV vehicles and plough them into civilian crowds, in the second edition of the group's online English-language magazine.
"Inspire", a 74-page propaganda organ published by the Yemen-based wing of the Islamist group, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), aims to recruit young westerners to the jihadi cause and to inspire random attacks.
In an article titled "The Ultimate Mowing Machine", illustrated with a picture of an imposing civilian Ford four-by-four truck, the group suggests turning the vehicle into a deadly battering ram and targeting crowded areas.
It urges attacks in "Israel, the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Denmark, Holland and other countries where the government and public sentiment is in support of the occupation of Palestine.
"If you have access to firearms, carry them with you so that you may use them to finish off your work if your vehicle gets grounded during the attack," the article continued, warning that militants must be prepared to die.
"After such an attack we believe it would be difficult to get away safely. Hence, it should be considered a martyrdom operation," it said.
Another section, entitled "My Life in Jihad", profiles US citizen Samir Khan, whom US intelligence believes is an Internet militant who once operated out of his parent's basement in New York and who is now in Yemen.
"I'm proud to be a traitor to America," wrote Khan, whom authorities suspect is one of the militants behind the magazine. "I'm proud to be a traitor in America's eyes just as much as I'm proud to be a Muslim."
"And I take this opportunity to accentuate my oath of allegiance to the ferocious lion, the champion of jihad, the humble servant of God, my beloved Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah protect him," he added.
Other articles include an interview with Abu Sufyan al-Azdi, a Saudi AQAP leader who was formerly imprisoned for six years at the US detention center in Guantanamo, and messages from the radical US imam Anwar al-Awlaki.
