BEIRUT: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri appeared in a new video marking the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, months after rumors of his death spread.
The SITE intelligence group that oversees jihadist websites said the video was released on Saturday. In turn, al-Zawahri said “Jerusalem will never be Judaized” and praised al-Qaeda’s attacks, including one that targeted Russian troops in Syria in January.
SITE said al-Zawahri also noted the withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. He added that his comments do not necessarily indicate a recent recording, as the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban was signed in February 2020.
Al-Zawahri made no mention of the capture of Afghanistan and the capital of Kabul by the Taliban last month, SITE added. But he mentioned a January 1 attack targeting Russian troops on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa.
Since the end of 2020, rumors have spread that Al-Zawahri had died of disease. Since then, no video or proof of life appeared until Saturday.
“He could still be dead, although if so, he would have been at some point or after January 2021,” tweeted Rita Katz, director of SITE.
Al-Zawahri’s speech was recorded in a 61-minute, 37-second video produced by the founding of the As-Sahab Media group.
In recent years, al-Qaeda has faced competition from jihadist circles of its rival, the Islamic State group. The IS gained prominence by seizing large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declaring a “caliphate” and extending subsidiaries to several countries in the region.
The physical “caliphate” of ISIS was crushed in Iraq and Syria, although its militants remain active and carry out attacks. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the obscure IS leader, was assassinated by US special forces in a raid on northwestern Syria in October 2019.
Al-Zawahri, an Egyptian, became al-Qaeda leader after the assassination of Osama bin Laden in 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEALs.
The SITE intelligence group that oversees jihadist websites said the video was released on Saturday. In turn, al-Zawahri said “Jerusalem will never be Judaized” and praised al-Qaeda’s attacks, including one that targeted Russian troops in Syria in January.
SITE said al-Zawahri also noted the withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. He added that his comments do not necessarily indicate a recent recording, as the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban was signed in February 2020.
Al-Zawahri made no mention of the capture of Afghanistan and the capital of Kabul by the Taliban last month, SITE added. But he mentioned a January 1 attack targeting Russian troops on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa.
Since the end of 2020, rumors have spread that Al-Zawahri had died of disease. Since then, no video or proof of life appeared until Saturday.
“He could still be dead, although if so, he would have been at some point or after January 2021,” tweeted Rita Katz, director of SITE.
Al-Zawahri’s speech was recorded in a 61-minute, 37-second video produced by the founding of the As-Sahab Media group.
In recent years, al-Qaeda has faced competition from jihadist circles of its rival, the Islamic State group. The IS gained prominence by seizing large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declaring a “caliphate” and extending subsidiaries to several countries in the region.
The physical “caliphate” of ISIS was crushed in Iraq and Syria, although its militants remain active and carry out attacks. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the obscure IS leader, was assassinated by US special forces in a raid on northwestern Syria in October 2019.
Al-Zawahri, an Egyptian, became al-Qaeda leader after the assassination of Osama bin Laden in 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEALs.