London, England—Slick and accessible, one of the latest offerings from Somalia’s Al Qaeda backed Al-Shabab looks more like a reality TV show than a recruitment tool for terrorists.

And then there’s the English—American English.

“Away from your family, away from our friends, away from ice, candy bars, all those things is because we’re waiting to meet the enemy.” says a man reported to be Abu Mansoor al-Amriki. Al Qaeda propaganda refers to him as ‘the American” and it is one of the first times he has ever shown his face. He is now apparently in Somalia training and counselling Somalis from North America and Europe.

And then there’s the jihad call to arms with a hip-hop vibe.

“Mortar by mortar, shell by shell, only going to stop when I send them to hell” raps the unidentified voice-over of the video.

“We’re seeing perhaps their most sophisticated attempt so far to really reach an audience of potential recruits in America and that’s one of the things that made that video very significant” says Ben Venzke of the IntelCenter, a Washington-based research group that tracks Al Qaeda’s development and messages.

“They’re casting it in a way that’s going to speak to the youth of today,” says Venzke who adds, “Most of the time what we’re seeing in their videos directly parallels what the groups are doing operationally, what they are targeting, where they’re recruiting.”

Sheik Ahmed Matan says he knows that firsthand. The respected member of Britain’s Somali community says he knows of hundreds of young Somali men who have returned to Somalia for terrorist training.

“A lot of young people from here, from America, from Canada, from everywhere from Europe they went there, ” he says adding these men are capable of being sent back home to conduct terrorist operations, even suicide bombings.

“It can be, they can train anytime and send them here, anytime,” says Sheik Matan.

Somalis from North American and Europe are beginning to come to terms with the problem of recruitment. The U.S. and British governments say Somalia is an emerging terror hot spot, which can pose a threat beyond its borders.

Sheik Matan says he often challenges ‘recruiters’ at mosques and elsewhere in Britain demanding they stop brainwashing younger Somalis about Islam. He says the government should play a greater role in monitoring what is said and done at these mosques but doing so has proved highly controversial in Britain and throughout Europe.

But there is evidence that Al Qaeda is successfully preying on some of those with Western backgrounds. One of them was a business student from London who suddenly left for Somalia and only surfaced about 18 months ago on this martyrdom video just before blowing himself up in Southern Somalia killing at least twenty people.

In an off-the-record briefing with CNN, U.S. Defence officials told CNN months ago that one of their worst nightmares would be Al Qaeda operating freely in Somalia. Now that nightmare continues, with Somalis in North America and Europe admitting Al Qaeda’s reach is spreading to their communities.

LONDON, England – It could be labelled a triumph for the British judicial system: Preventing three innocent men from going to prison for a crime they didn't commit.

That's certainly the way the jury saw it.

The only suspects ever charged in connection with London's 7/7 attacks have been found not guilty of conspiring with the bombers in 2005.

Waheed Ali, 25, Sadeer Saleem, 28, and Mohammed Shakil, 32, admitted being close friends of the bombers but through two trials they have denied ever knowing about the plot or helping them carry it out. The men were originally tried in 2008, but the first jury deadlocked and failed to reach a verdict.

For the victims' families, both trials have disclosed painful reminders of how and why the four suicide bombers were so intent on killing as many as possible on that day.  The three defendants always maintained they did not believe in suicide bombings.

But as Ali put in courtroom testimony: "If I agreed with [the bombings], I would have been there on 7/7 with the brothers, with a rucksack on my back...I would have killed hundreds," Ali told the jury before adding, "They didn't stop them, they wouldn't have stopped me. Not your MI5, not your MI6, not nobody."

Ali and Shakil were found guilty during this second trial of plotting to attend a terrorism training camp in Pakistan at the time of their 2007 arrest. They will be sentenced on Wednesday.

Still, Ali repeatedly accused the prosecution of being on a "witch-hunt" and of pursuing charges against him purely for political reasons.

While Scotland Yard's commanders would deny those accusations they will now face more scrutiny not just about this investigation, but their entire posture towards counter-terrorism investigations.

For years Scotland Yard has been trying to prove that the London bombers did not act alone. They gathered thousands of pieces of evidence that in the words of prosecutors, "fit together like a jigsaw to produce a compelling picture of guilt."

But they have failed to prove that in court.

Add to this failure, the release of 12 suspects last week after a high-profile investigation into a so-called ‘Easter-Plot.' Police here have yet to press a single charge in connection with an incident that the British government continues to describe as a "serious terrorist plot."

That investigation was brought forward after Britain's top counter-terrorism cop, Bob Quick, nearly blew the case by being photographed holding clearly legible briefing notes on the operation. Quick was forced to resign.

And then there is the airline plot now currently being re-tried in Britain. Seven men stand accused of plotting to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid bombs. But again, the prosecution failed to win convictions last year after the jury deadlocked and authorities were forced to prosecute the case from scratch.

All of this has served to undermine the credibility of Britain's counter-terrorism strategy.

The government has spent billions on fighting and prosecuting terror but Britain remains a significant global frontline. With all the adversity and scepticism it is now receiving in prosecutions and investigations, security authorities are open to new scrutiny about whether they are up to the job or even irresponsibly exaggerating the terror threat.