Al Qaeda militants have defied a crackdown and the loss of senior leaders in Saudi Arabia by using the Internet to win over new recruits in Osama bin Laden's birthplace. Despite the killing of top contributors, including one of its leading Web magazine editors Issa Saad bin Oshan, the group has continued to publish its two widely distributed magazines regularly for the past year. "It's testament to the strength of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia that they've been able to bring out the magazines twice a month for a whole year despite very heavy losses," said Paul Eedle, a London-based analyst who closely follows Qaeda sites. "This shows how a small group can continue a campaign using the Internet. Before the days of the Internet a group would pretty much fade from view if they were reduced in numbers like al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia," he said.Oshan ran Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Holy War) -- the most important vehicle for disseminating the group's ideas in which he detailed how Saudis could take up the armed struggle. He called on Muslims to evict "crusaders" from the cradle of Islam and praised comrades fighting pro-U.S. rulers. Another key publication is Muaskar al-Battar (Battar Camp), an al Qaeda guerrilla manual named after a favourite sword of Prophet Mohammad which disseminates knowledge about the use of arms and explosives and how to kill officials. Oshan was killed in a raid by Saudi security forces on a hideout that led to the discovery of the head of Paul Johnson, the American hostage who was killed by his Qaeda captors in Saudi Arabia in June.
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