Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri appeared in a video released on Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, asking questions about his rumored death.
The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist groups online, tweeted about the video’s existence, saying Zawahiri commented on the events that occurred after the first speculation that he had died. .
Amid rumors of his death, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is shown in a new 60-minute video, this time offering some evidence that he is not dead – in particular, the reference to events after December when rumors of death “appeared” SITE director Rita Katz tweeted.
The video was titled “Jerusalem will not be Judaized” and was published by As Sahab Media, the propaganda arm of the terrorist group.
Zawahiri mentioned an incursion into a Russian military base by al-Deen hurras, aligned with al-Qaeda in Syria, which the group said occurred on January 1, after rumors began circulating. about his death in November.
Katz said that while Zawahiri was discussing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, he noted that he was not talking about the Taliban’s return to power in the country.
However, Zawahiri does not mention the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan, and his conversation about the “exit of the United States from Afghanistan” from the United States could have been said as early as February 2020 with the Doha agreement. “, he said, referring to the agreement made last year to end the war in Afghanistan. “So he could still be dead, although if he were, he would have been at some point or after January 2021.”
But he said it is unknown whether Zawahiri is dead or alive because “intelligence agencies have so far given no solid evidence or assessments that Zawahiri is dead, leaving the question of his current condition on the air.”
He also said that Al Qaeda considers the anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil to be a “positive” event.
“Tragic as it may be, this 9/11 anniversary is only positive for al-Qaeda. As one QA supporter wrote, the U.S. leaving Afghanistan is a validation of Bin Laden’s vision and the “blessed” 9/11 attacks, and that “Afghanistan is the beginning.” he wrote.
Zawahiri became the leader of the terrorist group after Navy SEAL killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.