Al-Qaida nuke reactor threat

Order to strike U.S. plants posted at Islamic forum

An Internet posting at an Islamic forum relayed what purports to be a command to the al-Qaida organization in America to strike nuclear power plants inside the country.

U.S. Central Command, which translated the original message, says it is skeptical of the authenticity of the message, calling it a "fantasy threat" that would "go unfulfilled."

However, Centcom's statement also threatened to destroy the terrorist network should al-Qaida carry out a successful nuclear attack on U.S. soil.

The message from "Ayef," who claims to be working under the direction of an al-Qaida leader named "Abu-Jandal," was directed to "Abu-Azzam al-Amriki," � Abu Azzam, the American � and other al-Qaida members in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.

"Azzam al-Armiki" is the nickname of Adam Gadahn, the Orange County, Calif., native who appeared in an al-Qaida propaganda film last year.

Ayef claims to be an aide to Iraq's al-Qaida leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

The statement also claimed al-Qaida has not been in communication with "Ja'far al-Tayyar," who had been previously assigned the task of blowing up a nuclear reactor in the U.S.

Ja'far al-Tayyar is the pseudonym of Adnan El-Shukrijumah, a naturalized U.S. citizen who set off alarms last year when the FBI announced he was the leader of a suspected plot to detonate a dirty bomb in the U.S.