Saad bin Atif al-Awlaki, the leader of the Yemen-based terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has released a 34-minute video inciting Muslims to wage jihad against America. In this video, Awlaki has openly appealed to Muslims living in America to wage jihad and kill prominent people like US President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Tesla company owner Elon Musk. The name of this video is “Inciting the Believers”. AQAP supporters are circulating it online as a propaganda weapon.
In the inflammatory video, jihadi Atif al-Awlaki (also spelt Atef al-Awlaki), said that the United States is supporting Israel in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and for this it is necessary to take revenge. He told the approximately 4.5 million Muslims living in America, “You don’t need to consult anyone, just take revenge! Take revenge! Kill those infidel Americans.” He called Trump, Vance, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, Defence Minister Pete Hegseth and Elon Musk ‘scum of the earth’ and ‘the biggest criminals’. He talked about targeting these leaders, their families and people associated with the White House.
BREAKING: Al-Qaeda leader, Sa'ad Bin Atef Al-Awlaki, has just now called for American Muslims to wage Jihad on US soil and to assassinate President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Elon musk, others. pic.twitter.com/1QQzKOWVd9
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) June 10, 2025
“Go after the scum of the earth and its greatest criminals. These are Trump and his vice president [JD Vance], his advisor and his supporters in terms of finance, administration, and technology,” Awlaki said.
Awlaki further lamented the situation in Gaza saying that there is no limit to atrocities being committed against Muslims there. He said, “It is necessary to take revenge for what is happening to our people in Gaza.” He also tried to incite violence against Jews and said, “There should be no safe place left for Jews, just like they left no place for Palestinians.” He referred to the bombing of hospitals in Gaza and appealed to Muslims to take revenge.
After inciting Muslims to launch attacks in America and crying hoarse over Israel’s prolonged retaliation against Hamas in the aftermath of October 7 massacre, Yemeni Islamic terrorist lauded the attack on Israeli embassy staff in May this year and last year’s assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Atif al-Awlaki not only justified these attacks but also asserted that more such attacks should be carried out.
Besides calling for attacking Israeli nationals in the US and the American President, al-Awlaki also spoke about harming the US economy. He asked hackers to target the economies of the US and Gulf countries. He also described companies like Microsoft and Elon Musk’s Tesla as ‘legitimate targets’. Referring to AQAP’s magazine ‘Inspire’, he advised people to learn bomb-making techniques so that they can carry out attacks.
Notably, this video comes at a time when AQAP is considered to have weakened in the last few years. Its strength has decreased due to US drone attacks and internal conflicts within the organisation. Despite this, according to the United Nations, AQAP still has 3,000 to 4,000 members. The US has declared AQAP a foreign terrorist organisation. This Islamic terror outfit was formed in 2009 after the merger of Al-Qaeda groups from Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Experts opine that Saad Atif al-Awlaki is raking up the Gaza issue to challenge the growing popularity of Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Houthi rebels are also carrying out attacks against Israel, and Saad feels that the popularity of the Houthis is diminishing AQAP’s importance. Experts believe that this video is an attempt by AQAP to regain its diminishing relevance.
Who is Saad Atif al-Awlaki
Saad bin Atif al-Awlaki is from the al-Awaliq tribe of the al-Shubah area of Shabwa province in Yemen. He became the leader of AQAP in 2024, when the organisation’s former leader, Khalid al-Batarfi ,died. Earlier, Saad was part of AQAP’s Shura Council and was involved in planning attacks. He is a relative of Anwar al-Awlaki, a notorious terrorist who was killed in a US drone attack in 2011. The US has placed a bounty of $6 million on Saad because he had previously talked about attacking the US and its allies.
Born in Yemen, al-Awlaki has been spreading the jihadist ideology of Al-Qaeda for many years. In 2023, he was also seen in a video in which he asked the southern tribes of Yemen to fight against the United Arab Emirates and the Southern Council. His terror group commits crimes like bank robbery, arms smuggling and ransom to meet its expenses.
