From Sarah Adams (@TPASarah)
BOLO: U.S. Homeland Plot Commander

Name: Mohammad al-Hawshani

Nationality: Saudi Arabian

Age: 21

Affiliation: Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP)

Role: Selected as one of the commanders for al-Qaeda’s upcoming U.S. homeland plot

Location: Unknown, assessed to be on U.S. soil

This story begins with deception as this is a war after all. The ruse started in the Calmiskaad Mountains, a range in the northeastern Bari region of Puntland, Somalia. After a strike on suspected terrorists there, a Saudi passport was recovered. The passport belonged to Saudi ISWAP member Mohammad Al-Hawshani. It was left intentionally to be found.

For al-Qaeda’s upcoming plot, the selection of attackers and elevated positions such as Mohammad’s commander role was not based on battlefield skills alone. Candidates were screened for clean profiles: no criminal or terrorist history, not on watchlists, and so forth. For the most critical operatives, the plan went even further: to render them ...

Stay frosty!