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An obscure radical Islamist group calling itself Jund al-Sham (Army of the Levant) claimed responsibility for the March 23 blast at the BP Amoco PLC refinery complex in Texas City, Texas, which killed 15 people and injured more than 100 others. The group's claims are highly suspect -- and not only because the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the local law enforcement authorities have found no evidence of a terrorist attack at the refinery. Jund al-Sham also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a theater in Doha, Qatar, four days earlier.
The fact that no credible claim of responsibility has been made for the Doha attack suggests it was the work of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. With the exception of its branch in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade, al Qaeda generally does not claim responsibility for its attacks. By contrast, Jund al-Sham's Internet claims regarding the Doha attack and the Texas City blast have raised doubts are to whether Jund al-Sham even exists.
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