Osama bin Laden’s second in command warned yesterday that America would ”pay dearly” if any of the al-Qaeda suspects held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba were harmed.
In a taped message broadcast by the Arabic television channel al-Arabiya, a voice believed to be that of the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri said: ”I swear by the almighty God… that crusader America will pay dearly for any harm done to any of the Muslim prisoners it is holding.”
Zawahiri, who did not mention Bin Laden in the recording, added: ”We tell America one thing: what you have seen so far is nothing but the first skirmishes. The real battle hasn’t started yet.”
The message appeared to be a direct response to last month’s announcement by Washington that it would put suspects at Guantanamo Bay before military tribunals on terrorism charges. At least 660 suspects from 42 countries have been held without charge at Camp Delta, the site of a US navy base, after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan in December 2001.
”Let America know that if it tortures [the detainees], it will be torturing itself and if it tries them it will be trying its own sons, and if it sentences them then it will be sentencing its own people,” the message said.
”Let it be clear to those who conspire with America that America cannot defend itself let alone defend others.”
Each prisoner should know that ”his brothers have not forgotten that they will avenge him from the new crusaders”, the message said.
Al-Arabiya said it received the tape late on Saturday but it was unclear who passed the tape to the television station or from where Zawahiri (52) the founder of the militant group Egyptian Islamic Jihad, was speaking.
The US attorney general, John Ashcroft, said yesterday that there was a ”very real potential” that al-Qaida could strike the US again, and that the tape was evidence of that.
Ashcroft, who appeared on Sunday morning television talkshows, said he did not immediately know if the tape was authentic. It was the first time for more than two months that a senior al-Qaeda figure has released a taped message.
If the voice is indeed that of Zawahiri, as one of his former colleagues in Egypt appeared to confirm yesterday, it suggests he is operating in relative freedom. His message contradicts reports which claimed recently that he was among several al-Qaeda suspects held by Iran.
Tehran has admitted holding several al-Qaeda suspects, including senior figures who reportedly include Saif al-Adel, al-Qaeda’s no 3. But it appears that Zawahiri, and presumably Bin Laden, are still moving freely and have access to international news reports. Most western officials believe they are still either in Afghanistan or in the mountainous border with Pakistan.
The US appears to be far from catching them despite the presence of more than 10 000 American troops supposedly on their trail in Afghanistan.
Zawahiri, like Bin Laden, carries a £15-million price on his head and has been indicted for his role in the bombing of two US embassies in east Africa in 1998 in which 224 people were killed. He has frequently appeared at Bin Laden’s side in videotape messages released by the al-Qaeda leader since the September 11 attacks.
The US attorney general said the administration was doing everything it could to prevent fresh attacks.
”I believe that the potential for us to be hit again is a very real potential,” Ashcroft said. He pointed to last week’s alert from the homeland security department that al-Qaeda may attempt more suicide hijackings.
Omar al-Bayoumi, the Saudi citizen wanted by the US to over his alleged his links with two September 11 suicide bombers, has denied any connection to the terror attacks. Mr Bayoumi told an Arab television network he was ready to talk to investigators provided it was done in Saudi Arabia, with Saudi officials present. – Guardian Unlimited Â