Al-Qaeda Announces the re-launch of English-Language Inspire Magazine 

On December 26, 2023, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, released a trailer previewing a soon-to-be-released video titled, "What America & The West Do Not Expect."

The one-and-a-half-minute trailer, produced by AQAP's media arm, Al-Malahem Media, heralded the re-launch of the group's English-language Inspire magazine. 

The promotional trailer depicted scenes of terrorist attacks in New York City, including suicide attacks on the city's subway system and in Times Square, as well as plane hijackings.

"Our Enemy Is One:" U.S. And Israel As The Enemy Of Muslims

The trailer opens by displaying Quran 4:84,[2] which reads in part: "And fight in the way of Allah, you are not held responsible except for yourself [...] And inspire the believers."

The video's opening scenes juxtapose footage of Muslim pilgrims circling the Ka'aba in Mecca with dramatized images of an Israeli airstrike targeting Gazan children. An English-speaking narrator states: "Because we are one ummah and one body, our happiness is one and our sorrows are one."

The video then displays images of American and Israeli flags, and depicts operatives conducting cyberattacks on the U.S. electrical grid, while the narrator intones: "Our enemy is one. And that is why we strive [to wage] jihad against this enemy, and to be empowered around the world."

The trailer announces the re-launch of AQAP's Inspire Magazine, which aimed to incite jihadi attacks in the West before ceasing publication in August 2017. "We have returned to you again in a new form, and we present to you Open Source Jihad," the video's narrator declares, suggesting that AQAP has re-invented the Inspire brand to include media other than a print format.

TARGETING NEW YORK CITY: "WE WILL BE WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU MAY BE"

The trailer also threatens terrorist attacks on New York City. It depicts lone wolf operatives entering the city's subway system, for example, and shows an explosion within an aircraft – suggesting a hijacking – as well as scenes of New York's crowded Times Square.

The video also depicts operatives assembling improvised explosive devices and suicide vests; they are then shown detonating the explosives while wearing Palestinian keffiyehs. "We will be with you wherever you may be," the narrator says in conclusion: "We will overcome obstacles together, step by step, in order to reach our goal and the correct equation."

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