These top U.S. billionaires have just been targeted by al Qaeda

(NationalSecurity.news) The al Qaeda that planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks may be a shell of itself today, having lost many of its members to drone strikes and defections to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. But the organization nevertheless continues to threaten American interests and, in a recent magazine article, has called for “lone wolf” attacks on America’s super-wealthy.

As reported by NBC News, the “hit list” includes conservative activist brothers David and Charles Koch; Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway; former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of the Bloomberg News empire; Microsoft founder Bill Gates; Internet mogul Larry Ellison; and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. A prominent economist was also on the list but asked that his name be withheld. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was named, though not Janet Yellen, who succeeded him, NBC News and Fox News reported.

Also pictured was Jim Walton, one of the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, although he was misidentified in the caption as his late father, Sam Walton. Several other names on the list were misspelled, NBC News reported.

The billionaire business entrepreneurs were named in a piece published by al Qaeda’s slickly produced monthly magazine Inspire, which comes out in English. The article goes on to say that the “economic personalities” and “wealthy entrepreneurs” can get off the list by withdrawing their money from U.S. banks, investing their wealth outside American soil, and denouncing support for Israel.

Intelligence experts are taking the threats seriously.

“There is compelling evidence from the Boston Marathon bombings and other various thwarted terror plots that homegrown jihadists have specifically looked to the magazine for guidance on what targets to attack — and have taken that advice quite literally,” Evan Kohlmann of Flashpoint Intelligence, an NBC News counterterrorism analyst, said. He added that, while much of the magazine’s content is “somewhat aspirational,” it has also played a role in actual plots.

The magazine is published by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and was once edited by American-raised jihadi Samir Khan, who was killed in a 2011 drone attack along with cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. It is known for a shocking piece titled, “How To Make A Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom,” which provided a recipe for explosives.

One U.S. official told NBC News that the article calling for attacks on American billionaires appears to reflect a shift in focus by al Qaeda on lone wolf attacks, taking a page from ISIS.

Fox News noted that the hit list was published as the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches; in the past, as with the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, terrorist elements have used the anniversary as symbolic inspiration.

The network also noted that ISIS, in its own magazine, is offering hostages for sale and providing contact numbers for anyone interested in “buying a hostage.”

The two hostages featured in the magazine, Dabiq, are from Norway and China.

See also:

NBCNews.com

Video.FoxNews.com