<

Bin Laden Calls on Pakistanis to Defend Pakistan, Afghanistan, Pledges Jihad
Monday, September 24, 2001
An Associated Press report

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- AP
Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the terror attacks on the United States, called on Pakistan's Muslims to fight "the American crusade."

"I announce to you, our beloved brothers, that we are steadfast on the path of jihad (holy war) with the heroic, faithful Afghan people, under the leadership of Mullah Mohammed Omar," said a statement provided to Qatar's Al-Jazeera satellite channel Monday. The statement was signed by bin Laden and dated Sunday.

Omar is the leader of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia, which has harbored bin Laden since 1996 and has refused U.S. demands to turn over the Saudi exile and his lieutenants to the United States, among other things, or face attack. The United States has been building up its military presence in the region since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Bin Laden, believed in hiding in Afghanistan, often communicates with the outside world through Al-Jazeera, known among Arabs for its wide reach and its independent and aggressive editorial policies.

In the statement broadcast Monday by Al-Jazeera, bin Laden said he was informed that some "of our Muslim brothers in Karachi (Pakistan) were killed while expressing their opposition to the aggression of the American crusade forces and their allies on Muslim lands in Pakistan and Afghanistan."
(More: TampaBayLive.comNews Source)

Dan