'Bin Laden' tape broadcast on eve of 9/11 anniversary

Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera broadcast video footage of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, while an accompanying audio tape attributed to al-Zawahri called on Iraqi guerrillas to “bury” American troops in Iraq.

Al-Jazeera said the video footage was produced in late April or early May. It showed bin Laden and al-Zawahri, dressed in Afghan clothing, walking up and down a rocky mountain dotted with green plants. In one shot, bin Laden carried a cane in his right hand and wore a blanket over his left shoulder. In another, he had an AK-47 assault rifle in his left hand.

The two climbed to the hill top and sat resting, looking out over the trees and rocky outcroppings, the camera behind them.

A speech attributed to al-Zawahri was played over the video footage.

“We salute the mujahedeen brothers in Iraq and press on their hands and ask Allah to bless their sacrifices and valour in fighting the Crusaders,” the voice on the tape said.

“We tell you that Allah is with you and the (Islamic) nation supports you. Depend on Allah. Devour the Americans just like the lions devour their prey. Bury them in the Iraqi graveyard,” said the voice attributed to al-Zawahri.

Al-Jazeera did not say how or when it obtained the tape, but it said the two appeared ageing in the tape

The tape was broadcast yesterday, a day before the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States, attributed to al-Qaida.

“On the second anniversary of the raids on New York and Washington we challenge America and its Crusade, which is teetering from its wounds in Afghanistan and Iraq,” al-Zawahri said. “We tell them that we do not seek to kill, but we will chop off the hand which seeks to inflict harm on us, God willing.”

The voice promised the Americans more attacks.

“We assert that what you saw till now are only the first skirmishes. ... The true epic has not begun. Brace yourselves for the punishment for your crimes,” said the voice on the tape.

“We advise the mothers of the Crusaders’ soldiers that if they wish to see their children that they rush to demand that their government bring them back before they return in coffins.”

He accused the Americans of hiding the true number of their casualties.

The tape also called on Palestinians to continue fighting, saying Palestine would not be liberated except by holy war.

“We will not let America dream of security until we live it in reality in Palestine and all the lands of Islam,” he said.

On August 3, the al-Arabiya satellite station broadcast an audiotape purportedly from al-Zawahri warning that the United States would pay dearly if it harmed detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The United States said that tape was probably authentic.

The last tape attributed to al-Qaida was broadcast on August 18 on al-Arabiya television. The speaker, claiming to be Saudi-born militant Abdur Rahman al-Najdi, called on Muslims around the world to travel to Iraq to fight the US-led occupation.