Al-Qaeda's leader in Afghanistan vowed revenge for the killing
of a top commander in a suspected US attack, in a video posted on
the Internet on Wednesday.
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Abu Laith al-Libi, an al Qaeda commander in
Afghanistan, is seen in this video footage captured from his April
27, 2007 as-Sahab interview.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
"The men he trained ... will not rest until they avenge him and
realize his aspirations and hopes, God willing," Mustafa Abu
al-Yazid said in the recording posted on an Islamist Web site.
"The enemies of God were unable to confront Sheikh Abu Laith
al-Libi on the battlefield or to fight him as equals as they are
too cowardly for that," added the militant leader about the killing
of Libi.
Libi, considered as one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants in
Afghanistan, was killed in an suspected U.S. missile strike that
killed up to 13 foreign militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan
border area in late January.
"His martyrdom is light and fire: light for those loyal to God
to illuminate their path ... and fire against the enemies of God,"
Abu al-Yazid said. "Tomorrow is close."
The video was produced by al-Qaeda media arm As-Sahab and
carried English subtitles.
Libi's prominence in al-Qaeda was highlighted last year by his
appearance in a video with the group's deputy leader. He was the
first spokesman to announce bin Laden had survived the U.S.-led
invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
U.S. media have said the Libyan-born militant was believed to be
behind a suicide bombing in February 2007 that killed 23 people
outside the main U.S. Bagram base in Afghanistan during a visit by
US Vice President Dick Cheney.
In October the U.S. military in Afghanistan named Libi among
several "mid-level" al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders and offered a
200,000 U.S. dollars bounty for him, U.S. media reported.
In 2002, Libi was the first from the group to bring news that
bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar were alive after the
U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Some Western anti-terrorism analysts said past killings of
leading al-Qaeda figures had shown there were usually others ready
to fill the gap in the organization's ranks.
Abu al-Yazid appeared in the tape wearing Afghan robes and
turban against a black background.
(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2008)
