Thursday, September 05, 2013
Al Qaeda's leaders have set up cells of engineers to try to
shoot down, disable or hijack US drones, media reported late Tuesday
citing top-secret US intelligence documents.
The Al
Qaeda leadership is "hoping to exploit the technological vulnerabilities
of a weapons system that has inflicted huge losses against the
terrorist network," the The Washington Post said online.
"Although
there is no evidence that Al Qaeda has forced a drone crash or
successfully interfered with flight operations, US intelligence
officials have closely tracked the group's persistent efforts to develop
a counterdrone strategy since 2010," the report said, citing the secret
documents.
The Al Qaeda commanders are keen to achieve
"a technological breakthrough (that) could curb the US drone campaign,
which has killed an estimated 3,000 people over the past decade," the Post reported.
Drone
strikes have forced Al Qaeda operatives to limit their movements in
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and other places.
They have also taken a toll among civilians in those countries, something that has fueled anti-US sentiment.