American al-Qaida member threatens diplomats

An American member of al-Qaida threatened foreign diplomats and embassies across the Islamic world in a new video, saying they would targeted as “spy dens”.

The 1 hour 17minutes video also featured a computer-animated recreation of a March 2006 suicide attack that killed US diplomat David Foy in Karachi, Pakistan, and testimony from a man who claimed to be the bomber.

“We shall continue to target you, at home and abroad, just as you target us, at home and abroad, and these spy dens and military command and control centers from which you plotted your aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Adam Gadahn, a Californian also known as Azzan al-Amriki.

Gadahn was charged with treason in the United States last autumn and has been wanted since 2004 by the FBI, which is offering a $1m (€735,000) reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction. He last appeared in a video in May, threatening the United States with an attack worse than those of September 11, 2001.

The authenticity of the video, which was first carried on the website of terrorism expert Laura Mansfield, could not be independently confirmed but it featured the logo of al-Qaida’s media production house, as-Sahab.

The US-based SITE Intelligence Group also said it had obtained a copy of the video. Militant web forums have been announcing the imminent arrival of a new video featuring Gadahn for days.

In the video, which had Arabic subtitles, Gadahn wore a traditional Arab red-and-white chequered scarf and spoke in English. It was not known when the footage was filmed because he did not describe any specific events.

“Years of bitter trial and experience have revealed the danger (embassies) pose and shown that the only way to deal with them when they refuse to leave of their own accord is to expel them by force,” Gadahn said.

Al-Qaida's No.2, Ayman Zawahri, also appeared in the terror group’s latest video, outlining what he described as the crimes of Western countries against the Islamic world. As he spoke, the video showed images of US soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as mosques being destroyed.

The March 2006 attack that killed Foy, which was claimed by al-Qaida, also killed three Pakistanis and wounded about 50 others a day before President Bush made an official visit to Pakistan.