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| Terror Networks |
| Ayman praises Taliban in audiotape |
| 2005-12-12 |
| Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri has praised Taliban 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 48-minute tape, titled "Impediments to Jihad" and containing a still photo of a white-turbaned al-Zawahri, was believed to have been made at about the same time as a September 19 video attributed to the al-Qaeda deputy. The latest tape, which carries English subtitles and could not be immediately authenticated, was obtained by IntelCenter, a government contractor that does support work for the Unites States 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." It cited various militant campaigns and attacks for Muslims to follow, such as the Palestinian resistance against the Israelis in the Gaza Strip, opposition by anti-US insurgents in Iraq and the September 11 attacks carried out by 19 plane hijackers. "The key to victory is in our hands, and in turn, the primary cause of defeat is in ourselves," it said. Ben Venzke, chief executive at the IntelCenter, said the tape was produced by al-Sahab Media Production House, a shadowy purported al-Qaeda media organisation, but he declined to say how his organisation obtained it, citing confidentiality agreements with the US government. Venzke said al-Zawahri's September 19 video was unique for giving increased prominence to the Taliban. "But this latest one even goes beyond that with al-Zawahri pledging allegiance to the Taliban," he said. "The whole thing is an address to Muslims, saying armed jihad and struggle is the only way and that they have to suffer to do it." Al-Zawahri also bemoaned the lack of support for al-Qaeda-linked militants in Saudi Arabia, saying the mujahedeen had suffered "defeat" amid a high-profile anti-terror campaign by Saudi authorities. "These idolatrous regimes achieve victory over us because each one of us wants to save his own skin and avoid harm for himself," al-Zawahri said on the tape. "As long as this malignant illness continues to survive within us, there is no hope for victory and there can only be more defeats, tragedies, disasters and betrayals." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |