Al-Qaida Releases Taped Message On Anniversary
Posted September 11, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Osama bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri accused Egypy, Jordan and Saudi Arabia of supporting Israel in its month-long war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hundreds of Lebanese citizens died in the bloody conflict.
“You should not waste your time in reinforcing your troops in Iraq and Afghanistan because their fate is doomed,” al-Qaida’s number two said. “Instead, you have to reinforce your troops in two regions. First is the Gulf, where you would be thrown out … and second is Israel.”
In other parts of the tape, released Monday by Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, al-Zawahri called on Muslims to strengthen their resistence against the United States.
“You gave us every legitimacy and every opportunity to continue fighting you,” said al-Zawahri, addressing the United States. “You should worry about your presence in the (Persian) Gulf, and the second place you should worry about is Israel.”
There were several videos released by the terror network, including one on Sunday that showed previously unseen images of bin Laden and others apparently planning the Sept. 11 attacks.
At 91 minutes, the tape was a documentary-style retrospective of the five years since the attacks and contained high production values.
“Planning for Sept. 11 did not take place behind computer monitors or radar screens, nor inside military command and control centres, but was surrounded with divine protection in an atmosphere brimming with brotherliness … and love for sacrificing life,” an unidentified narrator said.
That video also included the last testament of two Sept. 11 hijackers – Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi. They were shown speaking to the camera, their images superimposed over pictures of the smoking World Trade Center towers.
Al-Shehri was on American Flight 11, which was the first to hit the World Trade Center, while al-Ghamdi was on United Flight 175, which hit the second tower.
It wasn’t clear when the tape was made or how soon before 9/11 the bin Laden footage was recorded.
