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The deadline set by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) for the release of radical cleric Sheikh Abu Qatada from the British Long Lartin Prison is approaching.

On April 26th, the group issued a statement threatening to kill British hostage Edwyn Dyer if the British government did not free Sheikh Abu Qatada within twenty days.

"On expiration of the deadline, the mujahideen will execute the British hostage if their demand was not met.” Several reminders of the time left till the expiration of the deadline were subsequently posted online.

Abu Qatada was first arrested in the U.K. in 2005 under immigration rules, as the government sought to deport him to Jordan. He was released on bail but was returned to prison following reports that he was attempting to flee Britain.

In March he issued a statement from the top security prison of Long Lartin in which he made a discrete appeal for the militants to save him.

"It has become imperative for Muslims to know of the orders of Prophet Mohammed, peace and prayers upon him, on the necessity to free the prisoners with all means, expedients and schemes in your power to achieve this great religious duty,” wrote Abu Qatada.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) warned the British government once again that it would kill British hostage Edwen Dyer, who was seized by the group in Mali last January, if radical cleric Abu Qatada was not released.

The statement was signed by an AQIM “soldier” going by the name Abi Mohammed al Osmani.

Radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada issued a long statement from his prison cell in the top British security prison of Long Martin where he lashed out at the British government for what he said was an unjust treatment and prosecution of Muslims. His statement, which was widely distributed on a number of militant Islamist Internet forums and chatrooms, may have come as a reaction to the decision to back Abu Qatada’s deportation to Jordan.

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A spokesperson for the Iraqi Shiite Islamic Resistance said his group was willing to trade one of four British contractors held hostages in Iraq since 2007 for al Baghdadiya correspondent Montadhar al Zeidi, who tossed his shoe at President George W. Bush at a press conference in Baghdad last week.
Abu Fatma al Bodeori made the offer in a phone call to al Rai TV, adding that the group would also release the three remaining hostages in exchange for the release of a number of Iraqi prisoners.
The group had initially seized five British men from the ministry of finance in Baghdad in May 2007. In July 2008, the group announced that one of the five hostages has committed suicide.
The first video shows the will of a young man identified as Mohammed Hisham, who was one of the trainees in a camp run by Zakir. It is unclear how both men died.

The Islamic Jihad in Yemen, the group that claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.S embassy in Sanaa Wednesday, demanded that the U.S. and British Embassies in Sanaa be shut down, in a statement mailed to a number of Yemeni news websites. The group had claimed to have an affiliation with al Qaeda. “We, the organization of the Islamic Jihad in Yemen, affiliated to al Qaeda, demand from the U.S. and British embassies to leave Yemen immediately,” the statement said.

This is a new video from the U.S. Inferno in Afghanistan produced by al Sahab media. The video showed a small group of Arab and Afghan fighters attacking a British Army outpost in Helmand. They used machine guns and RPGs in their attack. One shot showed an RPG round hitting the watch tower. The video closed with pictures of four Mujahideen praying in some underground grotto with the sound of machine guns rattling in the background. The video was intercepted from hosting websites and hasn’t been posted on any forums yet.

A new undated video obtained by CBS News shows a group of fighters attacking what al Qaeda’s media wing al Sahab – which produced the tape - claims is “the British military base in Helmand,” Afghanistan. A small group of militants is seen launching the attack with the cameraman explaining that they’re using PK machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles. The militants seemed to have been targeting soldiers in the watch towers.

The Taliban claimed in a statement posted on the Internet that 36 British soldiers were killed and four tanks destroyed during a nine-hour battle in the area of Alizy in the district of Helmand.

The statement claimed the battle started when "enemy" forces attacked militant centers in the neighboring villages. Only one member of the Taliban was killed and three were injured, according to the statement.

At the end of the statement, phone numbers of two Taliban spokespersons supervising different areas were posted, including their cell phones.

Al Qaeda’s media wing, al Sahab, posted a video of what it claims is a rockets attack on the British base in Helmand. The 3-minute video shows men standing inside a hole and firing rockets. Even though the attack was allegedly on a British base, al Sahab released it as part of its series entitled “the Hell of the Americans in the lands of Khorasan (Afghanistan).” There was no indication of the date of the attack or if there were any casualties.

A short video showing a man standing in front of a pit and firing several rounds of mortars was posted by al Qaeda’s media wing al sahab on the jihadi websites Thursday. Al Sahab claims the video, which is dated February 2008, shows an attack on the British base in Helmand , by as-Sahab media.