New al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri voiced support in an Internet video for popular revolts sweeping the West Asia, saying Arabs were no longer afraid of the United States, 10 years after the country was targeted by the militant network.
“Ten years have passed since the blessed attacks on New York and Washington and Pennsylvania: that mighty event which shook and continues to shake the pillars of the global crusade,” Zawahri said in the video posted on Islamist websites to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Zawahri, an Egyptian who took up the reins of al Qaeda after the killing of Osama bin Laden in June, hailed popular uprisings that have toppled leaders in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya this year, and urged other Muslims to overthrow their own rulers.
In the hour-long recording, titled “The Dawn of Imminent Victory”, also included a message from bin Laden, which Zawahri said was being aired for the first time. The exact date of the clip was not clear.
In it, bin Laden warned Americans of the “tyranny” of capitalism and big corporations, which he said were a main cause of war and had brought the United States to the brink of bankruptcy. He did not mention the “Arab Spring”.
{{/usCountry}}In it, bin Laden warned Americans of the “tyranny” of capitalism and big corporations, which he said were a main cause of war and had brought the United States to the brink of bankruptcy. He did not mention the “Arab Spring”.
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