Islamist Group Claims Senate Ricin Attack

An Islamist group affiliated with al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the ricin attack on a U.S. Senate office earlier this year, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 24).

The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade posted a statement on its Web site yesterday claiming it was responsible for the traces of ricin found on a mail-sorting machine in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) in February. The group said that incident was a test for a future attack, according to the Associated Press. 

The brigade takes its name from a top al-Qaeda lieutenant killed in a U.S. air strike on Afghanistan in 2001 (Maggie Michael, Associated Press, July 6).

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