Al Qaeda Deputy Says Britain’s Policies to Blame for Bombings

Al Qaeda’s second in command said on a tape broadcast Thursday that the July 7 bombings in London were a direct response to Britain’s foreign policies and its rejection of a truce that the terrorist network offered Europe in April 2004.

Ayman Zawahiri did not say outright that his group carried out the bombings on the London transport system that killed 52 people and the four suicide bombers. The tape included a statement from a man identified as one of the attackers.

Zawahiri and the bomber identified as Mohamed Sidique Khan did not appear together in the tape, but shots of each were edited together.

Two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a claim of responsibility did not necessarily indicate that Al Qaeda planned or directed the attack.

The officials said the terrorist network would regard the London bombings as a victory whether it was directly involved or not.

In the video, Zawahiri threatened the West with “more catastrophes” in retaliation for the policies of President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden are thought to be hiding along the rugged border dividing Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Speaking in English, the man identified as Khan said, “Your democratically elected governments continuously perpetuate injustice against my people all over the world.”

The image appeared to match photos of Khan published after the attacks.

After the Madrid train bombings in March 2004 that killed 191 people, Bin Laden was reported to have offered European countries a three-month cease-fire to consider his demands to withdraw their troops from Muslim countries. It meant, in effect, that European forces should leave Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the weeks immediately after the July 7 London attacks, there were at least two claims of responsibility on Islamic websites. But both were from groups who previously had made dubious claims.