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Zawahri: Bin Laden still leading holy war
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-07 11:45
Al Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden is still alive and leading a holy war against the West, the group's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in an Internet video on Wednesday.
"Al Qaeda for holy war is still, thanks to God, a base for jihad (holy war). Its prince Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may God protect him, is still leading its jihad," Zawahri said in a video posted on a Web site frequently used by militants.
Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden talks at a news conference in Afghanistan in this May 26, 1998 file photo.[Reuters] |
"I bring a message of joy to all Muslims and mujahideen that al Qaeda, thanks to God, is spreading and expanding and strengthening," he said.
"(Qaeda) has transformed into a popular organization confronting a new crusader Zionist campaign, in defense of all violated Muslim lands," said Zawahri, who was wearing a black turban and white robe.
He was speaking against a white background to an interviewer off-camera who said the interview was to mark the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities.
Bin Laden and his second-in-command, Zawahri, are believed to be hiding in the border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan and have eluded capture since the September 11 attacks -- carried out by al Qaeda.
Zawahri last appeared in October, when he urged Muslims in a video broadcast by Al Jazeera television to help Pakistan's earthquake victims even though its government was an "agent" of the United States.
A frame grab shows Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri talking in an internet video released December 7, 2005. Al Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden is still alive and leading a holy war against the West, the group's deputy leader al-Zawahri said in the Internet video Wednesday. [Reuters] |
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