A previously secret document found at Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan sets out a detailed al Qaeda strategy for attacking targets in Europe and the United States. The document -- a letter written to bin Laden in March 2010 by a senior operational figure in the terror group -- reveals that tunnels, bridges, dams, undersea pipelines and internet cables were among the targets. It was written by Younis al-Mauretani, a senior al Qaeda planner thought to have been behind an ambitious plan to hit "soft" targets in Europe in the fall of 2010. The U.S. Department of Justice passed the letter to German prosecutors last year for use in an ongoing trial in Dusseldorf because it possibly refers to one of the defendants, according to the German newspaper Die Zeit, which first broke the story.
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It was written by Younis al-Mauretani, a senior al Qaeda planner
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He is believed to have been behind an ambitious plan to hit "soft" targets in Europe
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He proposed that al Qaeda recruits take jobs with companies transporting gasoline
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Some of al-Mauretani's ideas may seem far-fetched, but they underline @placeholder's continuing fascination with bringing down airliners.
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Several of al-Mauretani's western recruits -- trained in the tribal territories of @placeholder -- have been arrested on their return home.
Younis al-Mauretani
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In 2010, @placeholder was seen as the mastermind of planned attacks in Europe.
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In 2010, al-Mauretani was seen as the mastermind of planned attacks in @placeholder.
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Sources briefed on the letter told CNN that al-Mauretani requested bin Laden issue a statement saying @placeholder's patience with Europe had run out following the al Qaeda leader's previous offering of a conditional truce, and that his statement needed to be choreographed with an attack shortly afterwards.
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Sources briefed on the letter told CNN that al-Mauretani requested bin Laden issue a statement saying al Qaeda's patience with @placeholder had run out following the al Qaeda leader's previous offering of a conditional truce, and that his statement needed to be choreographed with an attack shortly afterwards.
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Sources briefed on the letter told CNN that al-Mauretani requested bin Laden issue a statement saying al Qaeda's patience with Europe had run out following the @placeholder leader's previous offering of a conditional truce, and that his statement needed to be choreographed with an attack shortly afterwards.
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Inform @placeholder that patience has come to an end, as has our hope that they end their campaign against us.
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After we hit Europe we will hit @placeholder, so we isolate the Americans,"  the sources said al-Mauretani wrote in the letter.