Al-Qaida vows to turn 'happiness to sadness'
Source: Agencies |
May 7, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
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Al-Qaida yesterday confirmed the death of Osama bin Laden and warned of retaliation, saying Americans' "happiness will turn to sadness."
The confirmation came in a statement posted on militant websites, signed by "the general leadership" of al-Qaida. The announcement opens the way for the group to name a successor to bin Laden.
His deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, is now the most prominent figure in the group and a very likely contender to take his place.
The statement, dated May 3, was the first by the terror network since bin Laden was killed on Monday by US commandos in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The statement's authenticity could not be independently confirmed, but it was posted on websites where the group traditionally puts out its messages.
"The blood of the holy warrior sheik, Osama bin Laden, God bless him, is too precious to us and to all Muslims to go in vain," the statement said. "We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries."
It added: "Soon, God willing, their happiness will turn to sadness, their blood will be mingled with their tears."
There was no indication how the group will retaliate. Rather than making vehement cries of vengeance, the statement - entitled "You lived as a good man, you died as a martyr" - struck a tone of calmness and continuation. Though it included praise of bin Laden, much of the 11-paragraph statement was dedicated to underlining that al-Qaida would live on, depicting him as just another in a line of "martyrs."
"It is impossible, impossible. Sheik Osama didn't build an organization to die when he dies," the statement read. "The university of faith, Quran and jihad from which bin Laden graduated will not close its doors," it added.
"The soldiers of Islam will continue in groups and united, plotting and planning without getting bored, tired, with determination, without giving up until striking a blow."
It said bin Laden was killed "along an established path followed by the best of those who came before him and those who will come after him."
Al-Qaida also called on Pakistanis to rise up in revolt against its leaders to "cleanse the shame."
It also said an audio message that bin Laden had recorded a week before his death would be issued soon.
"Before the sheikh passed from this world and before he could share with the Islamic nation in its joys over its revolutions in the face of the oppressors, he recorded a voice recording of congratulations and advice which we will publish soon, God willing," the group said.
The confirmation came in a statement posted on militant websites, signed by "the general leadership" of al-Qaida. The announcement opens the way for the group to name a successor to bin Laden.
His deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, is now the most prominent figure in the group and a very likely contender to take his place.
The statement, dated May 3, was the first by the terror network since bin Laden was killed on Monday by US commandos in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The statement's authenticity could not be independently confirmed, but it was posted on websites where the group traditionally puts out its messages.
"The blood of the holy warrior sheik, Osama bin Laden, God bless him, is too precious to us and to all Muslims to go in vain," the statement said. "We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries."
It added: "Soon, God willing, their happiness will turn to sadness, their blood will be mingled with their tears."
There was no indication how the group will retaliate. Rather than making vehement cries of vengeance, the statement - entitled "You lived as a good man, you died as a martyr" - struck a tone of calmness and continuation. Though it included praise of bin Laden, much of the 11-paragraph statement was dedicated to underlining that al-Qaida would live on, depicting him as just another in a line of "martyrs."
"It is impossible, impossible. Sheik Osama didn't build an organization to die when he dies," the statement read. "The university of faith, Quran and jihad from which bin Laden graduated will not close its doors," it added.
"The soldiers of Islam will continue in groups and united, plotting and planning without getting bored, tired, with determination, without giving up until striking a blow."
It said bin Laden was killed "along an established path followed by the best of those who came before him and those who will come after him."
Al-Qaida also called on Pakistanis to rise up in revolt against its leaders to "cleanse the shame."
It also said an audio message that bin Laden had recorded a week before his death would be issued soon.
"Before the sheikh passed from this world and before he could share with the Islamic nation in its joys over its revolutions in the face of the oppressors, he recorded a voice recording of congratulations and advice which we will publish soon, God willing," the group said.
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