Twitter accounts of Abu Qatada and other key al-Qaida figures suspended

Jihadi scholars' accounts focused mostly on war in Syria and frequently attacked Islamic State

Twitter has suspended the account of Jordanian preacher and al-Qaida spiritual leader Abu Qatada, along with two other influential scholars aligned with the extremist group.

The three accounts, which between them had tens of thousands of followers and were used several times a day, were at the heart of an online network of al-Qaida supporters, said Cole Bunzel, scholar of jihadism at Princeton University. Bunzel tweeted: