More bad luck for terrorists

Yesterday I put up a post with the title 'It's been a bad week for terrorists'. No sooner had I done so than two more reports popped up today, confirming that it's been a very bad week indeed for them.

First, Ilyas Kashmiri, who's widely considered to be one of the guiding lights of Al Qaeda, was killed in a US missile strike in Pakistan yesterday. His death is a major victory for the USA's counter-terrorism effort, probably ranking second only to the death of Osama bin Laden in terms of recent successes. Pakistan's government is probably also heaving a sigh of relief at his demise, based on his role in the attack on their naval air station a few weeks ago.

Second, and on a considerably lighter note, it seems that British counter-terrorism forces have not lost their sense of humor. The Telegraph reports:

British intelligence has hacked into an al-Qaeda online magazine and replaced bomb-making instructions with a recipe for cupcakes.

The cyber-warfare operation was launched by MI6 and GCHQ in an attempt to disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular to recruit “lone-wolf” terrorists with a new English-language magazine, the Daily Telegraph understands.

When followers tried to download the 67-page colour magazine, instead of instructions about how to “Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom” by “The AQ Chef” they were greeted with garbled computer code.

The code, which had been inserted into the original magazine by the British intelligence hackers, was actually a web page of recipes for “The Best Cupcakes in America” published by the Ellen DeGeneres chat show.

Written by Dulcy Israel and produced by Main Street Cupcakes in Hudson, Ohio, it said “the little cupcake is big again” adding: “Self-contained and satisfying, it summons memories of childhood even as it's updated for today’s sweet-toothed hipsters.”

It included a recipe for the Mojito Cupcake – “made of white rum cake and draped in vanilla buttercream”- and the Rocky Road Cupcake – “warning: sugar rush ahead!”

By contrast, the original magazine featured a recipe showing how to make a lethal pipe bomb using sugar, match heads and a miniature lightbulb, attached to a timer.

There's more at the link.

Actually, I can see terrorists finding a use for cupcakes. They're dangerous things . . . eat them in sufficient quantity, and they'll blow up your waistline before you know it!





Peter