DUBAI: Al-Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri has urged militants to attack oil targets in Muslim states and says Osama bin Laden is still leading its battle against the West.
"I bring a message of joy to all Muslims and mujahideen that al-Qaeda is spreading, expanding and strengthening," he said in a video interview aired yesterday on an Islamist website. "Its prince Sheikh Osama bin Laden is still leading its jihad [ holy war]."
It was the first apparent confirmation for a year from a top al- Qaeda official that bin Laden was still alive.
Asked why US forces had failed to capture bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Zawahri said: "The main reason is God's protection. The second reason is that Muslims opened their hearts and homes to the mujahideen. They took them in and protected them despite all risks."
Zawahri incited militants to take their campaign to a new level by attacking oil sites in pro-US Gulf Muslim states. He said the United States had suffered a defeat in Iraq and it was only a matter of time before it pulled out its troops. "Iraq is a catastrophe for America and Americans will leave, it will only be a matter of time."
The tape appears to have been filmed since September, as Zawahri referred to Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's re-election that month and Afghanistan's September 18th legislative elections.