US nationals Qaeda's latest weapons of choice

The arrest of Colleen R Larose alias Jihad Jane, the American woman accused of providing material support to terrorists and recruiting men and women on the Internet to wage 'violent Jihad' in south Asia and Europe, was a rude wake up call for the United States administration.

The involvement of Jihad Jane and Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley in fomenting terror has rudely reminded US intelligence agencies that the Al Qaeda had succeeded in inducting even American nationals in its terror mission.

Indian security agencies, which have bee keeping a track of these developments, warn that the LeT and Al Qaeda will try to utilise such foreign operatives to further their agenda.

These terror outfits are banking on the fact that a US national is rarely subjected to rigorous security procedures and generally given preferential treatment in other nations. Headley, who received an Indian visa after furnishing false information, managed to travel across India with impunity to conduct reconnaissance of likely targets for terror attacks, without drawing any kind of suspicion.

In the case of Jihad Jane, the fact that she was a US national and a woman gave her a double advantage, and the security agencies never considered her as a suspect.

After the massive crackdown on the Al Qaeda post the 9/11 attacks, the terror outfit recruited cadres from Pakistan and other Gulf countries. However, the number of personnel recruited from these regions has reduced by at least 70 per cent now, say sources in the Intelligence Bureau.

Security experts believe that there are many American operatives working for these terror outfits, and in spite of being key persons in the Al Qaeda network, they are seldom used to carry out terror strikes.

The primary responsibility of operatives like Jihad Jane was to recruit like-minded American nationals into the Al Qaeda's terror network. The Al Qaeda had found it difficult to recruit foreign nationals initially; but now it has realised that it is easier for an American terror operative to brainwash a fellow US national and convince them to join the global jihad.

The Lahskar is also working along the same line, points out the IB, as it is setting up a network to launch global jihad. The number of foreign nationals in their outfit is rising steadily and they have realised that this is the best way to go ahead with a recruitment drive.