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al-Qaida Speaks
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
By Nadia Abou el-Magd / The Associated Press

"The land of Afghanistan and the mujehedeen are being subjected to a full crusade with the objective of getting rid of the Islamic nation. The nation must take up its response and in the end I thank god for allowing us to start this jihad and ask God to give us victory in the face of our enemy and return them defeated."

CAIRO, Egypt -- AP
Osama bin Laden's spokesman on Tuesday called for a holy war against U.S. interests everywhere and said the hijackers who flew planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon "did something good."

"America must know that the storm of airplanes will not stop, and there are thousands of young people who look forward to death like the Americans look forward to life," Sulaiman Abu Ghaith said.

The message from Abu Ghaith, delivered in Arabic, was the second statement from al-Qaida since the launch of U.S.-led airstrikes against Afghanistan on Sunday. Bin Laden issued a videotaped message that same day, though it appeared to have been recorded before the attacks began.

Abu Ghaith, who addressed his message "to the entire Islamic nation," said that President Bush had launched a "crusade" against Afghanistan with the launch of strikes and Muslims worldwide must respond.
(More: The Middletown Press News Source)
2001 © The Middletown Press

Dan