Mali manual suggests al-Qaida has feared weapon The 26-page document in Arabic, recovered by The Associated Press in a building that had been occupied by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in Timbuktu, strongly suggests the group now possesses the SA-7 surface-to-air missile, known to the Pentagon as the Grail, according to terrorism specialists.
June 12, 2013 - Stars and Stripes
News Summary: Civilian planes shot down by MANPADS Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is now thought to possess the SA-7, a surface-to-air missile in the category of MANPADS, or man-portable air-defense systems. Since 1975, 40 civilian aircraft have been hit by MANPADS, causing at least 28 crashes and more than 800 deaths around the world, according to the U.S. State Department. Here are some incidents involving commercial planes.
June 11, 2013 - Associated Press via Yahoo! News
News Summary: Civilian planes shot down by MANPADS - NBC40.net Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is now thought to possess the SA-7, a surface-to-air missile in the category of MANPADS, or man-portable air-defense systems.
June 11, 2013 - NBC40 South Jersey
Ayman al-Zawahri in Reuters South Africa Your good sons are gathering (in the Maghreb) under Islam and jihad's banner against America, France, Spain and their people ...... O nation of jihad, support your sons so that we defeat our enemies and rid our homeland of their slaves,said...
Robert Mueller in Outlook Our primary threat continues to come from the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. But we are seeing persistent activity elsewhere, from the Maghreb and the Sahel to Yemen,FBI Director Robert Mueller said yesterday.