Osama praises martyrdom in new video
Monday, July 16, 2007
AL-QAEDA'S fugitive chief Osama bin Laden, who has not been heard from for more than a year, appeared in an undated videotape posted on the Internet yesterday, in which he praises martyrdom.
"The happy (person) is the one chosen by Allah to be a martyr," Bin Laden said in a short clip, which was included in a videotape titled "Winds of Martyrdom", and carried by the Washington-based Site Intelligence Group.
Site said the footage was old, but did not give an estimated date.
The images showed showed the Western world's most wanted man, wearing an Afghan-style hat, military fatigues and a greying beard, standing outdoors against a background of a hill and shrubs.
Bin Laden was last heard of in an audiotape posted on the Internet in July 2006, in which he accused Iraqi Shi-ites of waging "genocide" against the minority Sunnis.
He had also warned in an audio message posted a day earlier that jihad, or holy war, would go on in Iraq despite the killing of the then al-Qaeda frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"The last Prophet (of Islam, Mohammed) ... wished to have died as a martyr," said Bin Laden in yesterday's video. It bore the symbol of the As-Sahab group, which usually produces audiovisual statements from al-Qaeda's leadership.
The videotape featured also messages from other al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan, as well as testimonies by purported suicide bombers ahead of launching attacks in the war-torn country.
This is the 63rd As-Sahab video to be released in 2007, according to the US-based intelligence institute IntelCenter.
The US Senate on Friday doubled the bounty on bin Laden to US$50 million ($76 million), reflecting frustration that the al-Qaeda mastermind remains free and rising anxiety over possible future attacks.
The vote followed a flurry of reports that the group behind the September 11 strikes in 2001 had rebuilt its safe haven, leadership and capacity to plot terror operations, and was trying to sneak operatives into the US. AFP
"The happy (person) is the one chosen by Allah to be a martyr," Bin Laden said in a short clip, which was included in a videotape titled "Winds of Martyrdom", and carried by the Washington-based Site Intelligence Group.
Site said the footage was old, but did not give an estimated date.
The images showed showed the Western world's most wanted man, wearing an Afghan-style hat, military fatigues and a greying beard, standing outdoors against a background of a hill and shrubs.
Bin Laden was last heard of in an audiotape posted on the Internet in July 2006, in which he accused Iraqi Shi-ites of waging "genocide" against the minority Sunnis.
He had also warned in an audio message posted a day earlier that jihad, or holy war, would go on in Iraq despite the killing of the then al-Qaeda frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"The last Prophet (of Islam, Mohammed) ... wished to have died as a martyr," said Bin Laden in yesterday's video. It bore the symbol of the As-Sahab group, which usually produces audiovisual statements from al-Qaeda's leadership.
The videotape featured also messages from other al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan, as well as testimonies by purported suicide bombers ahead of launching attacks in the war-torn country.
This is the 63rd As-Sahab video to be released in 2007, according to the US-based intelligence institute IntelCenter.
The US Senate on Friday doubled the bounty on bin Laden to US$50 million ($76 million), reflecting frustration that the al-Qaeda mastermind remains free and rising anxiety over possible future attacks.
The vote followed a flurry of reports that the group behind the September 11 strikes in 2001 had rebuilt its safe haven, leadership and capacity to plot terror operations, and was trying to sneak operatives into the US. AFP
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