Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, who was rumored to have died months earlier, appeared in a video on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Associated Press reported.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which controls terrorist websites, shared Saturday that the video with al-Zawahri was uploaded to the networks on Saturday, AP reported.
In the video, al-Zawahri mentions an Al Qaeda attack on Russian troops in the Syrian city of Raqqa on January 1. He also said, “Jerusalem will never be Judaized.”
17) 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, particularly the reference to facts later in December, when rumors of the death surfaced. (A March speech did not offer this test) pic.twitter.com/IXpz6wIZvh
– Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) September 11, 2021
The AP notes that Al-Zawahiri did not mention that the Taliban took control of Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrawal from the country, but SITE said it did not appear that the recording was recent.
According to AP, rumors spread that Al-Zawahiri died of a prolonged illness in late 2020.
“However, Zawahiri does not mention the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan, and his conversation about the US” making its way out of Afghanistan “could have been said as early as February 2020 with the Doha agreement.” , SITE Director Rita Katz wrote in a tweet. “Therefore, he could still be dead, although, if so, he would have been at some point or after January 2021. “
19) However, Zawahiri does not mention the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan, and his conversation about the US “making its way out of Afghanistan” could have been said as early as February 2020 with the Doha agreement. Therefore, he could still be dead, although, if so, he would have been at some point or after January 2021.
– Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) September 11, 2021
Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.