Purported Al Qaeda Tapes Aired
Two audiotapes apparently from top Osama bin Laden lieutenant Ayman Zawahiri were broadcast on Arabic TV stations Tuesday, one threatening more attacks on the United States and the other criticizing France.
A CIA spokesman said a technical analysis determined that the voice is probably Zawahiri’s.
The audiotapes aired a few hours apart on the Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera channels, based in the Persian Gulf.
Executives at both stations said they received the material Tuesday. Events mentioned in the tapes indicate that the recordings were made no earlier than last month.
In Al Jazeera’s tape, the voice challenges Bush’s claim to have liberated Iraq and indicates that Al Qaeda is still running operations from Afghanistan.
“Bush, fortify your targets, tighten your defense, intensify your security measures,” the tape says, “because the fighting Islamic community -- which sent you New York and Washington battalions -- has decided to send you one battalion after the other, carrying death and seeking heaven.”
The audiotape aired by Al Arabiya criticizes France’s decision to ban religious symbols from public buildings, including head scarves worn by Muslim women.
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