The al-Qaida threatened that it will attack “infidels” in North Africa and asked Muslims to stay away from possible targets. It plans to launch attacks with all means of detonation, bombing and demolition.
The threat came through a Islamic website.
A 17 October statement posted on an Islamist website claims to be from the Tawhid and Jihad group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It begins with a personal pledge of allegiance from Zarqawi and his fighters to Osama Bin Laden. But what is the evidence for his relationship with al-Qaeda – and for his status as the mastermind of the Iraq insurgency? The statement has not been authenticated and verifying the author of web postings is almost impossible.
In February 1998, al-Qaeda issued a statement under banner of “The World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders” saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens—civilian or military—and their allies everywhere. Al-Qaeda would merge with Egyptian Islamic Jihad (Al-Jihad) of Ayman al-Zawahiri in June 2001.
The Al-Qaeda is labeled as a terrorist organization by the UN Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the EU, the US, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland.
