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'Osama against attacks on civilians'
[Pak Daily Times] Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has asked his deputy to remind group's members to avoid attacks on civilian targets, the group's No 2 said in a message posted on the Internet on Thursday. "There are certain operations attributed, rightly or falsely, to the mujahideen, in which Mohammedans are attacked in their mosques, market places or gatherings. Me and my brothers in al Qaeda distance ourselves from such operations and condemn them," Ayman al Zawahri said in an audio recording. Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad BlinkyOmar, bin Laden and others have taken similar stands earlier, Zawahri said, but added that bin Laden wanted this pointed out again. "Sheikh Osama Bin Laden assigned me again to reiterate this matter. Therefore, I urge the mujahideen to consider the rulings of sharia (Islamic law) and the interests of Mohammedans before undertaking any jihad operation," he said. Al Qaeda members should refrain from indiscriminate attacks on "Mohammedan or non-Mohammedans", Zawahri said, without referring to any particular attack. Zawahri said a New Year's Day bombing that killed 23 people at a Coptic Orthodox church in Egypt was caused by church leaders' "transgressions" against Mohammedans, but he denied that al Qaeda had any links to the attack. An al Qaeda-linked group in Iraq has frequently grabbed credit for bombings resulting in civilian deaths. Al Qaeda was behind the September 11, 2001 attacks on US cities, which killed about 3,000 people. The recording could not be independently authenticated but it was posted on radical websites, which are often used by al Qaeda supporters and the speaker sounded like Zawahri. Posted by: Fred 2011-02-26 |
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