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Irish al-Qaeda fighters mentioned in propaganda tape
FIGHTERS from Ireland have joined al-Qaida in Afghanistan and took part in the downing of a helicopter that left 16 US troops dead, it was claimed yesterday.A video shown on Arab television and also delivered to British Prime Minister Tony Blair claims the recruits from Ireland were part of a multinational force that took part in the attack and the ransacking of a US military base. While a small number of militants living in Ireland are thought to have travelled to training camps in Pakistan, this is the first time it has been claimed that Irish people are directly involved in fighting within Afghanistan. Part of the video was screened on Dubai-based al-Arabiya television channel and showed a man speaking in a pronounced British Midlands accent warning the "people of the West, don't be fooled by the lies of Blair and Bush". The station's reporter, in a voiceover, said: "It is noteworthy that al-Qaida fighters from Britain, Ireland, France and Pakistan, in addition to Arabs, speak in the film before the military operation." The British man, wielding an AK-47 and wearing a black balaclava and combat gear, proclaims he is a mujahedeen and speaks in English as he addresses a camera in the centre of woodland. "Oh people of the West, don't be fooled by the lies of Blair and Bush that you are free nations, for the only freedom that you have is the freedom to be slaves of your whims and desires," he said. Blurred video footage also shows the rocket attack on a Chinook helicopter which claimed the lives of 16 US Navy Seals in June. A French-speaking fighter vows to "slit the throats of the Americans and the Jews" and makes a sawing motion with his hand. It claims a group attached to al-Qaida were involved in what was called Operation Vanquishing the Cross. The attack, in the Kunar province, was the first involving a downed helicopter since March 2002. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-08-10 |
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