Bin Laden Said to Warn of Attacks in U.S.
8 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!
By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer
CAIRO, Egypt - In two new messages broadcast by Al-Jazeera on Saturday, a voice purported to be Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) threatened countries helping the American occupation of Iraq (news - web sites) and warned of new suicide attacks "inside and outside" the United States.
AP Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Osama bin Laden
The speaker in the audiotaped messages also warned Iraqis against cooperating with U.S. forces and urged youth in neighboring nations to join a jihad, or holy war, against the Americans.
"We reserve the right to respond at the appropriate time and place against all the countries participating in this unjust war, particularly Britain, Spain, Australia, Holland, Japan and Italy," the voice said.
He added there would be "no exception for those participating from the countries of the Islamic world, and the Gulf, especially Kuwait."
The two messages — each 10 minutes long, one addressed to Americans, the other to Iraqis and Arabs — were the first purported to be from the al-Qaida leader since Sept. 10, when Al-Jazeera screened a videotape that contained a pair of voiceovers, one purportedly from bin Laden and the other from his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.
The CIA (news - web sites) said two days later that analysts believed bin Laden's voice on the tape was probably authentic.
Al-Jazeera aired the two messages — the second two minutes after the first — over a still photo of bin Laden, dressed in a robe and vest and a traditional flat Afghan cap.
In the second message, to the Americans, the speaker said: "I tell the American people we will continue fighting you and we will continue martyrdom operations inside and outside the United States until you stop your injustice, and you end your foolishness."
"Jihad must continue until an Islamic government is established," he said.
In the message, the speaker derided Washington's attempts to persuade other nations to send troops to Iraq to help U.S.-led forces trying to stabilize the nation. There are already troops from 26 other nations in peacekeeping forces led by Britain and Poland. So far after Washington's new call for forces, Turkey and South Korea (news - web sites) have said they would send troops.
"America is embroiled in the swamps of Tigris and the Euphrates (rivers)," the speaker on the tape said. "America is in real trouble ... it is now screaming for help, from the lowest of people."
President Bush (news - web sites) "thought that Iraq and its oil is a big treasure," the voice said. "Now it is in trouble and resorted to buying mercenary fighters from everywhere."
"I call upon all Muslims, especially Iraqis. I tell them: Do not dare support the crusading American armies and those that ally with them," he said. "Anyone that aids (news - web sites) them, or whatever comes of them, no matter the label, is sacrilegious."
"You young people of Islam everywhere, especially from neighboring states, and Yemen, you have to go wage jihad (holy war) and show your muscles. Follow the right path and don't follow people who follow their whims ... who want to divert you from such a mission," the speaker said. |
