Al Qaeda rising in North Africa; now calling for the death of U.S. diplomats

An al-Qaeda affiliate in Northern Africa called for the death of other American ambassadors and envoys in the region, specifically in Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.

For months we have reported on the rise of al-Qaeda linked militant groups in these countries and others in northern Africa and now they are calling for attacks on U.S. embassies. But will these calls to violence lead to more attacks here in the U.S.?

Rudy Atallah is the former director of Africa counterterrorism at the defense department and he is Outfront.

Al Qaeda calls death of U.S. ambassador a 'gift'

As part of the fallout from an online video that mocks Islam's holy prophet, al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa on Tuesday urged Muslims in the region to kill U.S. government representatives and called the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens a "gift."

"We encourage all Muslims to continue to demonstrate and escalate their protests ... and to kill their (American) ambassadors and representatives or to expel them to cleanse our land from their wickedness," said the statement from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

The group called last week's killing of Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, "the best gift you (can) give to his arrogant and unjust administration."

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