Al-Qaida deputy: US being defeated in Afghanistan
Al-Qaida deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the US was being defeated in Afghanistan, Iraq and other fronts in a new video released today, the latest in a series put out by the terror network to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
The 80-minute video was in a documentary style, touting al-Qaida’s activities in various areas, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and North Africa.
“What they claim to be the strongest power in the history of mankind is today being defeated in front of the Muslim vanguards of jihad six years after the two raids on New York and Washington,” al-Zawahri said, speaking in what appeared to be an office, with shelves of religious books and an automatic rifle leaning agains them.
“The Crusaders themselves have testified to their defeat in Afghanistan at the hands of the lions of the Taliban,” he said.
“The Crusaders have testified to their own defeat in Iraq at the hands of the mujahideen, who have taken the battle of Islam to the heart of the Islam world.”
The video, which was posted on Islamic militant websites today, came days after al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden released two messages to mark the September 11 anniversary – including his first new appearance in a video in nearly three years.
The latest video included audiotapes from bin Laden, but it was not immediately clear if they were new, said IntelCenter, a US counterterrorism group that monitors militant messaging and first uncovered the video.
Al-Qaida videos often include audio or video from old speeches that have been previously released.
Today’s video begins with the voice of September 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta in a cockpit audiotape, first released by the 9-11 Commission in 2004.
“Nobody move. Everything will be OK. If you try to make any move you will endanger yourself and the aeroplane. Just stay quiet,” Atta is heard telling people on board American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the World Trade Centre.
