al-Qaeda threatens more attacks in new video

In this image taken from video and released by the SITE Intelligence Group on Friday, shows al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri speaking in a video commemorating the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Photo: AFP

al-Qaeda threatened major new attacks in Afghanistan and vowed to keep fighting in Iraq even after Americans leave, in a new video to mark the anniversary of the Sep. 11 attacks.
The video was issued Friday, more than a week after the seventh anniversary of the attacks. The delay in release, apparently due to problems in the militant Web sites where al-Qaeda posts its videos, raised questions among counterterror specialists over whether the terror network's long-powerful propaganda machine was faltering.
In previous years, the group has released a string of videos for the 9-11 anniversary, featuring top leaders trumpeting their victories. Osama bin Laden spoke in one the anniversary videos last year, making his first appearance in nearly three years. He does not appear in the latest video.
al-Qaeda announced in a Sept. 8 Web advertisement that it would release a video that would bring joy to its followers. It promised a surprise speaker, showing him in silhouette with a question mark over his face.
But soon after, the Islamic militant Web forums where al-Qaeda traditionally posts such videos went down and have remained closed. The reason is not known.
The 90-minute video, entitled "The Results of Seven Years of Crusades," was finally released Friday, according to two U.S. groups that monitor militant messages. It featured speeches by bin Laden's top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri and other top figures in the terror network, as well as the final testament of Ahmed al-Ghamdi, one of the hijackers in the 9-11 attacks, who was apparently the "surprise" speaker, SITE Intelligence and IntelCenter said.