Iraq have "broken the back" of the U.S. military, al-Qaida's No. 2 said in a
video posted Saturday — the latest in a series of messages from the terror
network.
This is an undated
image made from a video released Friday, April 28, 2006 of al-Qaida's No.
2 Ayman al-Zawahri. al-Zawahri said the terror network's branch in Iraq
had succeeded in 'breaking the back' of the U.S. miltary with hundreds of
suicide bombings, in a video that was the latest in a string of new
messages by al-Qaida's leaders. [AP] |
The video by Ayman al-Zawahri, posted on an Islamic militant Web forum, came
within the same week as an audiotape by al-Qaida's top leader
Osama bin
Laden and a video by the head of al-Qaida's branch in Iraq — a volley of
messages by the group's most prominent figures.
Al-Zawahri, an Egyptian militant believed to be hiding in
Afghanistan
or Pakistan, also denounced the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq
as "traitors" and called on Muslims to rise up to "confront them."
He said that U.S. and British forces in Iraq had bogged down in Iraq and
"have achieved nothing but loss, disaster and misfortune."
Al-Qaida in Iraq "alone has carried out 800 martyrdom operations (suicide
attacks) in three years, besides the sacrifices of the other mujahedeen, and
this is what has broken the back of American in Iraq," al-Zawahri said.
The video by al-Zawahri was first obtained by IntelCenter, a U.S. contractor
that provides counterterrorism intelligence services to the U.S. government
U.S. counterterrorism officials were aware of the video and analyzing it, two
officials said on condition of anonymity.
One of the officials, who would not be identified in compliance with office
policy, said it was part of al-Qaida's ongoing propaganda blitz to demonstrate
the terror group remained relevant.
Bin Laden issued an audiotape on Sunday accusing the United States and Europe
of supporting a "Zionist" war on Islam in what many analysts saw as an attempt
to draw support from moderate Muslims.
Two days later, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq — the Jordanian militant Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi — issued an audiotape in which he showed his face for the first
time and denounced Iraq's attempts to form a new government. He called on Sunni
Arabs to join the "jihad" or holy war in Iraq.
It was not known what prompted the release of bin Laden's, al-Zawahri's and
al-Zarqawi's messages within the space of one week — and to what degree they
were coordinated.
Al-Zawahri's 16-minute video posted Saturday, entitled "A Message to the
People of Pakistan," was mainly dedicated to criticism of Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf, accusing him of undermining his own country to help the United
States,
Israel and India.
There was no date in the video, but al-Zawahri mentioned a "recent" visit in
early March by
President Bush to India and Pakistan. During the visit,
Bush "gave a great push to India's nuclear program while handing out orders and
instructions in Pakistan," al-Zawahri said.
"Every soldier and officer in the Pakistani military should know that
Musharraf is throwing them into the burner of civil war in return for the bribes
he is getting from the United States," al-Zawahri said
"For this reason I call on every soldier and officer in the Pakistani army to
disobey the orders of his commanders to kill Muslims in Pakistan or Afghanistan
or otherwise he will be confronted by the mujahedeen," he said.
In the video, the gray-bearded al-Zawahri sat indoors, in front of a
semi-translucent white curtain with rows of lace embroidery on it. Wearing a
black turban and white traditional robes, he motioned often with his right hand,
while his left arm remained largely still, as it has in other recent videos.
Al-Zawahri, who last appeared in a video on March 4, has been the most vocal
spokesman for al-Qaida. While bin Laden was silent for nearly a year — ending
his silence with an audiotape in January — al-Zawahri has frequently released
messages, using videos while bin Laden only issued audiotapes. U.S. intelligence
officials have said they believe the two are hiding separately.
Al-Zawahri messages have closely followed bin Laden ones in the past,
suggesting a degree of coordination. Al-Zarqawi's tapes, however, have often
appeared more closely timed with events in Iraq.