September 12, 2019 The leader of al Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for 9/11 marked the eighteenth anniversary of the attack by calling for more attacks on targets in America, Europe, Israel and Russia.
In a video produced by the terrorist organization’s media arm, as-Sahab, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the group’s leader since the 2011 death of Osama bin Laden can be seen and heard once again celebrating the slaughter of thousands of Americans on 9/11. Al-Zawahiri then goes on to encourage Muslims to seek out and hit U.S. military bases.
Most Americans first learned of Al-Zawahiri, when al-Qaeda released a video in the days after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In the video, he was sitting alongside Osama bin Laden watching the two planes hit the twin towers. The two masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks were seen laughing and celebrating.
In the 33 minute video, al-Zawahiri tells followers:
“If you want jihad to be focused solely on military targets, the American military has presence all over the world, from the East to the West,” he says in the footage. “Your countries are littered with American bases, with all the infidels therein and the corruption they spread.”
The latest video was first discovered on Wednesday by SITE Intelligence Group, a website that tracks the online activity of white supremacist and jihadist groups.
AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI
Ayman al-Zawahiri was best known as “number 2” always seen alongside of Osama bin Laden in propaganda videos released by the terrorist group. Since taking over as the group’s leader in 2011, Egyptian born al-Zawahiri has released several videos calling for attacks on America, and has maintained that al Qaeda’s primary target is the United States.
In the 18 years since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the CIA has not been able to capture al-Zawahiri, but believe he is hiding in a remote area along the Pakistani-Afghanistan border. Al-Zawahiri has survived several U.S. assassination attempts, but there have been no close calls since 2007.
U.S. officials say Al-Zawahiri has used “green screen” technology to disguise his living conditions in video messages. The FBI’s Rewards for Justice program offers a reward of $25 million for information leading to Zawahiri’s capture.