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Al-Qaida warns US over film
Source: Agencies |
September 19, 2012, Wednesday
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AL-QAIDA'S branch in North Africa yesterday called for attacks on United States diplomats and an escalation of protests against an anti-Islam video that was produced in the US and triggered a wave of demonstrations and riots in the Middle East and beyond.
While demonstrations have tapered off in nations, including Egypt and Tunisia, protests against the film turned violent in Pakistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir and hundreds of people rallied in Indonesia and Thailand.
In Kabul, the Afghan capital, a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a mini-bus carrying South African aviation workers to the airport, killing at least 12 people in an attack that a militant group said was revenge for the film "Innocence of Muslims," which was made by an Egyptian-born American citizen.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack killed eight South Africans, three Afghans and a Kyrgyzstan native.
At least 10 protesters have died in riots in several countries, bringing the total number of deaths linked to unrest over the film to 22.
US officials describe the video as offensive, but the American government's protection of free speech rights has clashed with the anger of Muslims abroad who are furious over the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, womanizer and pedophile.
In a statement, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb praised the killing of Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya, in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on September 11. The group threatened attacks in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania.
It also urged Muslims to pull down and burn American flags at embassies, and kill or expel American diplomats to "purge our land of their filth in revenge for the honor of the Prophet."
An Islamist militant group, Hizb-i-Islami, claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul. The group is headed by 65-year-old ex-warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister and one-time US ally who is now listed as a terrorist by Washington. The militia has thousands of fighters and followers in the country.
While demonstrations have tapered off in nations, including Egypt and Tunisia, protests against the film turned violent in Pakistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir and hundreds of people rallied in Indonesia and Thailand.
In Kabul, the Afghan capital, a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a mini-bus carrying South African aviation workers to the airport, killing at least 12 people in an attack that a militant group said was revenge for the film "Innocence of Muslims," which was made by an Egyptian-born American citizen.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack killed eight South Africans, three Afghans and a Kyrgyzstan native.
At least 10 protesters have died in riots in several countries, bringing the total number of deaths linked to unrest over the film to 22.
US officials describe the video as offensive, but the American government's protection of free speech rights has clashed with the anger of Muslims abroad who are furious over the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, womanizer and pedophile.
In a statement, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb praised the killing of Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya, in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on September 11. The group threatened attacks in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania.
It also urged Muslims to pull down and burn American flags at embassies, and kill or expel American diplomats to "purge our land of their filth in revenge for the honor of the Prophet."
An Islamist militant group, Hizb-i-Islami, claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul. The group is headed by 65-year-old ex-warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister and one-time US ally who is now listed as a terrorist by Washington. The militia has thousands of fighters and followers in the country.
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