Qal3ah

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The announcement on Qal3ati taking responsibility for the 7 July 2005 London bombings.
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The announcement on Qal3ati taking responsibility for the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

Al-Qal3ah, Qal3ah, or Qal3ati (Arabic: القلعة‎, al-qalāʻah — "the castle"; the 3 is an ASCII representation of the Arabic ع commonly used online) is an Internet forum. It is infamous for being the site on which announcements and discussions by Islamic extremists have taken place, including the posting of several decapitation videos of prisoners captured by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi's forces in Iraq. Sources such as the Israel-based Islamist-extremist watchdog group Society for Internet Research claim that the forums are owned by the Muslim reformist Sa'ad Al-Faqih (sometimes spelt Al-Fagih), but on July 9, 2005, The Guardian reported that al-Faqih denied ownership of the site, and claimed to the newspaper that the accusation was a "Zionist smear."

The website, which is registered in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, officially distances itself from such activity, maintaining it is a discussion forum for religious and political views and issues; however, it has been labelled as a cover for a "jihadi forum" by Israeli sources. Such claims cite evidence that Sa'ad Al-Faqih has been identified by the United States Treasury as having financially assisted Al Qaeda. [1] The site has over ten mirrors, all of which are down as of July 9, 2005. [2]. Some of the mirrors' Internet Service Providers included Everyones Internet, a Houston, Texas–based private corporation, and the London-based PIPEX.

On July 7, 2005, the site was used to post an announcement which took responsibility for bomb blasts in London.


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