 Al Qaeda broadcast the second episode of its newscast on Wednesday under the name âVoice of the Caliphateâ and allegedly produced by Osama bin Ladenâs supporters. An Egyptian anchorman, wearing a black ski mask and an explosives belt, believed to be an al Qaeda figure, presented the "weekly review of the state of the nationâ with news on suicide operations in Palestine and Iraq as well as the state of Muslims in Niger. He also congratulated al Qaeda for the start of the Holy month of Ramadan.
| "Yay! It wouldn'ta started widdout you guys' help!" |
Broadcast on the internet, broadcast began with a reading of Quranic verses urging men to fight to pictures of al Qaeda members receiving military training in Afghanistan, followed by its slogan âa cry of justice in the face of wrongâ which was accompanied by flames that melted away the slogans of western news agencies and television stations.
| The drama! The excitement! My heart! [Thud!] |
According to the anchor, as the official voice of al Qaeda on the internet, the broadcast was âthe word of truth in the face of erroneous.â The 91-minute newsreel featured anthems that glorified death, martyrdom and heaven which constituted a substitute to the usual soundtrack that accompanies televised programs.
| Oboy. An hour and a half of corpses. The turbans must have loved it. |
One of the anthems glorifying a suicide operation in Iraq said, âTeach me how to kill a man and fight non-believersâ. The voice of the Egyptian newsreader was identical to that in the earlier broadcast on 12th September 2005, indicating the same individual took part in the broadcast. In a small advertisement segment, the journalist Tayseer Alouni, the first to interview bin Laden after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and recently sentenced in Spain to seven years in prison for his involvement with al Qaeda, was pictures during his trial and behind bars. The anchor urged the viewers to mobilize public opinion in favor of the jailed journalist and offer him support.
| Looks like there wasn't a mistake involved in that verdict. |
The news reel also indicated that a female member of al Qaeda carried out a suicide attacked in the Iraqi town of Tal Afar against a police recruitment station but denied that Abu Azzam al Iraqi, al Qaedaâs number two, had been killed and indicated this lie was propagated by "media magiciansâ. It also attacked the Iraqi government spokesman, Laith Kibbe, who first announced this news. "Abu Azzam al Iraqi is one of many soldiers of al Qaeda and the leader of a battalion operating in occupied Baghdad and not the second in command in Abu Musab al Zarqawiâs group", the presenter said.
| "He's not dead, either! Get up, Abu! Show 'em how alive you are!" |
Criticizing the mediaâs silence on US actions in Iraq, the broadcast also showed fighters in actions in Iraq and praised a suicide operation that targeted an ice factory by a member of the specialist âal Baraa bin Malik Martyrs Brigadeâ adding that the âZubair bin al Awwam Brigadesâ had also pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in Iraq. Attacking Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the Egyptian presenter said, âAyman al Zawahiri had warned in a previous recording about the dangers if the Palestinian resistance heeds his statements.â
| "Jihad is the answer, no matter what the question." |
In an indication the recording was made some time ago, the anchor notes a number of remarks by Taleban spokesman, Abdul Laitf al Hakimi, arrested by the Pakistani authorities earlier this week, but does not mention his detention.
| "That ain't him. That's... ummm... somebody else." |
In a preview of next weekâs broadcast, the Egyptian newscaster promised to speak out to Muslim journalists and media professionals on behalf of the secretary general of the Islamic media front. |