A Note of Caution on the So-Called "Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades"

By Evan Kohlmann

Late last night, a purported entity known as "Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades" issued a communique over the Internet claiming responsibility on behalf of Al-Qaida for yesterday's attempted series of renewed terror bombings in downtown London.  The group--named after Al-Qaida's former military chief slain in November 2001--has dispatched a dozen or more similar threats over the past two years, achieving some level of public infamy.

But the real question is, should anyone actually be listening to them?  Though the mainstream media has jumped on this communique (not to mention other off-kilter claims of responsibility recently posted on the Internet), there is little reason or evidence to suggest that either:
1.) This statement was posted by the same individuals who have broadcast "Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades" material in the past; nor that,
2.) There is any actual link whatsoever between Al-Qaida and the so-called "Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades."  Rather than expand on this point myself, I point readers instead to the words of my old friend in Finsbury Park, hook-handed cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri.  Shortly after the 3/11 bombings in Madrid (yet another catastrophe claimed by the elusive "Abu Hafs" Brigades), Abu Hamza took to his podium in London and addressed this issue directly:

"Look at this group that claimed responsibility [for Madrid]... they are the same group who claimed their responsibility about the power [outage] in Canada, and about the power [outage] in America, about the power [outage] in Britain for the Underground.  Can you really take them seriously??  And who are they?  Al-Qaida has *never*, *ever* claimed that they have a branch which is called the 'Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades.'  I know some brothers in Al-Qaida, sometimes they leave people to speak whatever they want to speak for, as long as they support them and they try to get the people around them.  But this is a bad manner because you are going to leave the believers frustrated."

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