Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri who was rumoured to be dead was seen in a new video released by the outfit’s official media arm on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks the online activity of jihadist groups, reported that al-Zawahiri spoke on a number of issues, including a raid on a Russian military base, in the new hour-long video released by al Qaeda. Rita Katz, SITE’s director, noted that al-Zawahiri made no mention of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
A Hindustan Times report stated that Katz pointed out Al-Zawahiri was shown in the video even though reports last November claimed he had died. Last he appeared in a video message for the group on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
The United Nations claimed that most of the terror outfit Al Qaeda leadership resides in the Afghanistan and Pakistan border region, including al-Zawahiri. “One member state reports that he is probably alive but too frail to be featured in propaganda,” the UN report said.
After rumours of his death floated, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri shown in the new 60-minute video, this time offered some evidence that he is not dead–particularly, reference to events after December, ” Katz said in a series of tweets.
Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian, succeeded Osama Bin Laden as the chief of the group. He also talked about last month’s US withdrawal from Afghanistan in the new video.
“However, Zawahiri doesn’t mention Taliban’s Afghanistan victory, and his talk of the US “making its exit from Afghanistan” could have been said as early as Feb 2020 upon the Doha Agreement.
Thus, he could still be dead, though if so, would have been at some point in or after Jan 2021,” Katz pointed out. “Nonetheless, intelligence agencies have, as of yet, offered no proof or solid assessments that Zawahiri is dead, leaving the question of his current status in the air.”
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