The Associated Press reports that the CIA "thwarted an ambitious plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden... The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time al-Qaida developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said." UPDATE BELOW: The FBI says the public was never in danger. more ›

A federal jury has found a Queens man guilty on all charges related to a 2009 plan for suicide attacks on the NYC subways, conspiring to join the Taliban and training with Al Qaeda. Adis Medunjanin now faces up to life in prison. more ›

Move over, Occupy May Day actions, there's actually a federal advisory about the May 1st anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. Newsday reports, "The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Northern Command issued an internal intelligence bulletin late Wednesday stating terrorists would consider an attack on the May 1 anniversary as 'a symbolic victory.'" more ›

The alleged mastermind of a thwarted plan to blow up several NYC subway trains testified for the second day in the trial of his alleged accomplice yesterday. According to Najibullah Zazi, the attack was motivated by a desire for avenge the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers in 2006. In a “martyrdom” video, Zazi said, ‘This is for her,’ ” referring to the girl. He also explained that al-Qaeda taught him a 'very simple' formula for suicide bombs using materials that could all be bought over the counter. more ›

[UPDATES BELOW] NBC reports that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Manhattan DA Cy Vance are scheduled to make an announcement at 7:30 p.m. tonight—the announcement is "likely terrorism related." MSNBC's Meg Robertson reports that it's "confirmed" that the announced is terrorism related. We'll update this post as we learn more information. more ›

Last week, the U.S. drone strike in Yemen that killed U.S.-born al Qaeda leader and terrorist recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki also killed al Qaeda magazine Inspire publisher Samir Khan. Now it turns out that Khan grew up on Long Island: Newsday reports that his "classmates remember his evolution to an anti-American radical. Samir Khan, 25... was about 7 years old when he came to the United States [from Pakistan]. He lived in Westbury for about a decade, attending W.T. Clarke High School in the East Meadow school district from 1999 to 2003," before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. more ›

Earlier today, the U.S.-born al Qaeda leader and terrorist recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen by a missile fired from an American drone aircraft. In the wake of the death of al-Awalki, the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an American citizen had been deliberately targeted and killed by American forces, Ron Paul is not happy: "If the American people accept this blindly and casually that we now have an accepted practice of the President assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys, I think it's sad." more ›

A Massachusetts resident is accused of plotting to damage the Capitol building and Pentagon in Washington D.C. remote controlled planes filled with C-4 explosives. According to the Washington Post, "Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S.-born citizen of South Asian background, traveled to Washington last May to conduct surveillance and intended to launch three small GPS-guided aircraft from East Potomac Park — two against the Pentagon and one against the Capitol, according to a detailed plan he gave to the FBI." more ›

At this point, just about every credible world organization has either discredited or disavowed Iranian clown-of-the-century Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his wacky conspiracies theories on 9/11. And now, the terror organization who was responsible for the September 11 attacks has had it with Ahmadinejad passing the blame to everyone but them: "Al Qaeda...succeeded in what Iran couldn't. Therefore it was necessary for the Iranians to discredit 9/11 and what better way to do so? Conspiracy theories," claimed an author in the latest issue of the al Qaeda English-language magazine "Inspire." more ›

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 is just around the corner, and though "there are no guarantees," the Department of Homeland Security doesn't think that Al Qaeda is working on an anniversary plot—but that doesn't mean there aren't folks out there pushing for some blown up buildings and bridges in our neck of the woods. For example, the monitoring service SITE (which was last in the news reporting the alleged targeting of David Letterman) says it has recently come across a posting calling for "those who love blasting and explosions" to strike Gotham landmarks. more ›

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are issuing a warning that terrorists may be renting small planes and filling them with explosives for possible attacks. The bulletin says, "Violent extremists with knowledge of general aviation and access to small planes pose a significant potential threat to the Homeland." more ›

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano spoke to the editorial board of the Dallas Morning-News and believed that if a 9/11-style plot would not happen today. However, she admitted, "There are no guarantees," though there is more intelligence sharing, "better targeting of airline passengers who need 'special attention,'and background checks at flight schools." Also, maybe White House officials should take White House Briefs titled "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US" seriously. more ›

Last night, David Letterman returned from his vacation and addressed the alleged Al-Qaeda death threat: "I have a fatwa on me. And they say the guy that issued the fatwa is an Internet jihadist. Internet jihadist, and I said, 'Well, heck, who says Obama isn't creating jobs?'" He also said, "We have a great audience night in and night out but tonight you mean a lot to me. You people are more than an audience tonight, really. You're more like a human shield." more ›

Has Al Qaeda targeted Late Show host David Letterman? According to an analyst from SITE, a private company that tracks extremist websites, it seems that way: they tell EW that a member of an Al Qaeda message board has posted an assassination threat against the comedian. Is it because his "intoxicating" sexuality is threatening them? more ›

File this under news that shouldn't surprise you: according to documents retrieved from his compound after his death, Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were plotting another attack on U.S. soil to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. However the plans never moved passed the discussion phase, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. more ›

An Egyptian man who was found "hunkered down near the waterfront" at Port Newark on January 31st may have been plotting a terrorist attack, or just may have really wanted a taste of that sweet, sweet American Dream. The Post reports that Asem Ellbahnsany Haroon, a 26-year-old who is not on any terrorist watch list, "told investigators that he was an Iraqi citizen who had arrived two weeks earlier on an unspecified Italian freighter." Not much is known about Haroon other than he was "once denied a visa" because authorities told a judge that he "had fought as an insurgent against American forces in Fallujah." more ›

Bin Laden, who was killed in a US raid on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan, telling supporters to "set up an operations room that follows up events and works in parallel ... to save the people that are struggling to bring down their tyrants." more ›

Senator Chuck Schumer, who just lurves his Sunday press conferences, yesterday called on the Department of Homeland Security and Amtrak to institute a "no-ride list" to complement the existing airline "no-fly list." His call to action came after files found at Osama bin Laden's compound suggested that Al Qaeda was planning a train attack for the tenth anniversary of 9/11. It is unclear how exactly such a system would be implemented, but Amtrak says it will review the proposal. more ›

Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden sought to harm the US by "attempting to inflame race and class tensions in hopes of tearing down the country from the inside out," sources who have seen the evidence recovered from Bin Laden's compound have told ABC News. In addition to traditional terrorist attacks, Bin Laden wished to "create a divisiveness that would cause more damage than al Qaeda could ever do on their own." This included recruiting blacks in the US, "to capitalize on them to further the jihadi cause." more ›

A CIA Predator Drone strike in Yemen on Thursday failed to hit its intended target, American citizen Anwar al-Awalaki, but may have killed other members of Al Qaeda, the Times reports. Al-Awalaki, a Muslim cleric who was born in New Mexico and recruits English-speaking extremists through internet sermons, is believed to be a member of Al Qaeda's branch in the Arabian Peninsula. more ›

Among the juiciest details released after the successful US operation to kill Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last weekend was the mention that the military took hard drives from the compound—"10 hard drives, 5 computers and more than 100 storage devices which includes discs, DVDs and thumb drives." Investigators have been poring through those files, and have now revealed that Al Qaeda had been considering attacking the US rail system on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. more ›

Five days after President Obama announced that US forces in Pakistan had successfully located and killed Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda confirmed the death of their leader this morning. They posted a statement on jihadist forums today, which was translated by US monitoring group SITE Intelligence, vowing to avenge his death: "We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan, on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed, to rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves who sold everything to the enemies...a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries." more ›

After US armed forces found and killed Osama bin Laden, they reportedly buried his body at sea. And though the Telegraph says bin Laden's body was treated "according to Islamic custom, which would have meant it being washed and shrouded by Muslims," the watery burial was most likely done to avoid a shrine to the terrorist being built around his grave. However, the Post spoke to some New Yorkers with their own ideas about how bin Laden's burial should have gone. Here are some choice quotes: more ›

Nearly ten years since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, it has been confirmed that President Obama will make an announcement shortly that the mastermind of that attack, Osama bin Laden, is dead. BBC adds that "The US is in possession of Bin Laden's body." You can watch a live feed of the announcement here. President Obama just announced: "Tonight I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden." [Video below] more ›