Al Qaeda deputy praises Taleban gains in Afghanistan in new tape
Saif Al-Islam
(AP)
11 December 2005
CAIRO, Egypt - Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman Al Zawahri has praised Taleban
leader Mullah Omar for winning back control of large regions of
Afghanistan and urged Muslims to wage holy war against the West,
according to a tape that surfaced on Sunday.
The new tape, which is about 48 minutes long, was believed to have been
made at about the same time that the last tape attributed to Al Zawahri
- a Sept. 19 video - was issued.
The latest tape, which could not be immediately authenticated, was
obtained by IntelCenter, a government contractor that does support work
for the U.S. intelligence community.
In it, Al Zawahri credited Mullah Omar with leading a three-year
campaign "against the Crusaders and apostates in Afghanistan" and
taking control of "extensive parts of eastern and western
Afghanistan."
The tape was also a rallying call to Muslims to attack Western
interests, saying: "the key to victory is in our hands, and in turn,
the primary cause of defeat is in ourselves."