A purported audiotape of Osama bin Laden aired on al Jazeera television claimed responsibility for a Dec. 25 attempted bombing of a US-bound plane, and the al-Qaeda leader vowed to continue attacks on the US.
“The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of Sept. 11,” bin Laden said on the tape, aired yesterday.
‘FROM OSAMA TO OBAMA’
“If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words we wouldn’t have carried them to you by planes,” bin Laden added in a message he said was directed “from Osama to [US President Barack] Obama.”
The Yemen-based regional wing of al-Qaeda has said it was behind the Dec. 25 attempt to blow up the plane as it approached Detroit. The botched attack and subsequent threats in Yemen prompted Sanaa to declare an open war on the global militant group within its territory.
Yemen has launched a series of air strikes targeting al-Qaeda leaders since then and has declared that some top leaders including Qasim al-Raymi and Ayed al-Shabwani have been killed. Al-Qaeda denies this.
US SUPPORT
Defense and counterterrorism officials say Washington has been quietly supplying military equipment, intelligence and training to Yemen to destroy suspected al-Qaeda hideouts.
On yesterday’s audiotape, bin Laden cited Washington’s support for Israel as the motivator for more attacks on the US and vowed not to stop so long as Palestinians cannot live in peace.
“Our attacks against you will continue as long as US support for Israel continues,” bin Laden said. “It is not fair that Americans should live in peace as long as our brothers in Gaza live in the worst conditions.”
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