A new video message from Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of Al-Qaeda since 2011 succeeding Osama bin Laden following his death, has emerged on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States (US), advocating on a number of issues.
According to the reports, an hour-long video of Ayman al-Zawahiri was released on September 11, 2021, exactly twenty years after September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
The video, which has been circulating on social media since yesterday, shows al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri saying that al-Qaeda supporters must fight not only against Western countries but also against their allies in the Middle East. SITE Intelligence Group is a US-based non-governmental organization founded in 2008, which tracks the online activity of jihadist groups and white supremacist.
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Director of SITE Intelligence Group, Rita Katz tweeted, “Amid rumors of his death, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri shown in new 60-minute video, this time offering some evidence that he is not dead–particularly, reference to events after December, when rumors of death surfaced.”
17) Amid rumors of his death, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri shown in new 60-minute video, this time offering some evidence that he is not dead–particularly, reference to events after December, when rumors of death surfaced. (A speech from March offered no such proof) pic.twitter.com/IXpz6wIZvh
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) September 11, 2021
In her tweet thread, Rita Katz further talked about the video saying that al-Zawahiri talked about a raid on a Russian military base by the al-Qaeda-aligned Hurras al-Deen in Syria, which it claimed on Jan 1 (after rumors/reporting of his death surfaced in Nov). In the video, al-Zawahiri was introduced with “May Allah Protect Him.”
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“Also of note that the video uses clips from Taliban media, showing its fighters. Yet another signal of the importance of the Taliban in the global jihadist movement’s narrative since 9/11, and how the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan is also al-Qaeda’s victory,” tweeted Katz.
13) Also of note that the video uses clips from Taliban media, showing its fighters. Yet another signal of the importance of the Taliban in the global jihadist movement’s narrative since 9/11, and how the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan is also al-Qaeda's victory pic.twitter.com/uUiIixlrdu
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) September 11, 2021
There is no immediate confirmation that Ayman al-Zawahiri died last year or not. Further ambiguity is also due to the fact that after examining al-Zawahiri’s new video, it is very hard to say when this hour-long video was recorded, according to the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which analyzes propaganda videos released by terrorists.
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Following the new video of the al-Qaeda leader released on Saturday, ‘intelligence agencies have, as of yet, offered no proof or solid assessments that al-Zawahiri is dead, leaving the question of his current status in the air.’
The same video also mentioned the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after a 20-year deployment by the al-Qaeda leader. In al-Zawahiri’s words, after 20 years of war, the United States is leaving Afghanistan “broken and wounded.” In the Afghanistan section of the video, al-Zawahiri made no mention of the Taliban’s continued military advance before taking control of Kabul.
In the video, the al-Qaeda chief criticized the recent establishment of diplomatic and trade relations with Israel by some Arab countries, calling them “treason.” The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco are the Muslim-majority Gulf or African countries that formally recognised Israel last year and entered into agreements with it and now have formal relations with Israel.
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The price of al-Zawahiri’s head
Egypt’s Ayman al-Zawahiri took over the leadership of the terrorist network in 2011 after al-Qaeda’s founding leader Osama bin Laden was killed during a covert US military operation in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.
The United States has valued al-Zawahiri’s head at $25 million (USD), and many counterterrorism experts estimate that Ayman al-Zawahiri may be hiding somewhere in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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