Zawahri says al Qaeda behind London blasts-video

DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda carried out the July suicide
bombings in London to strike at “British arrogance,” the
group’s second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video tape
aired on Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera on Monday.

“The London attack is one of the attacks that al Qaeda …
had the honor of carrying out against … British arrogance,
the aggression of the crusader British against the Muslim
nation for over a hundred years,” Zawahri said.

He denounced Britain for “the historical crime of setting
up Israel and the continuing crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“These and other attacks have revealed the true
hypocritical face of Western civilization that talks about
human rights and freedom only as long as it is in its
interest,” he said, citing the planned toughening of British
security laws after the London blasts.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said the tape was “al
Qaeda’s clearest public statement to date suggesting that they
were responsible (for the London attack). But that in and of
itself does not prove that al Qaeda planned or directed the
attack. They’re quite happy to take responsibility for any
terrorist attack.”

The U.S. official, who said the tape was still being
reviewed by intelligence officials, said it was “still unclear
what the nature and extent of their involvement (in London)
was.”

Zawahri denounced elections in Afghanistan, saying they
were not free and were carried out under U.S. occupation.
“These elections are a farce more than anything else,” he said.

He insisted the Taliban were still powerful and said U.S.
forces had to “hide” in their bases.

Al Jazeera said the tape was prepared by al Qaeda’s media
group al-Sahab, which distributes Islamic militant videos on
the Internet, to mark the fourth anniversary of the Sept 11,
2001, attacks.

The video, excerpts of which were aired by TV network, had
English subtitles and showed Zawahri apparently talking to an
off-camera interviewer.

The U.S. counterterrorism official said the subtitles,
along with the use of English speakers in past tapes, were a
sign al Qaeda leaders wanted their messages to resonate better
in the West and to get “better play” in the Western media.

“They are quite savvy on the propaganda front,” he said.

In the latest tape, Zawahri, Osama bin Laden’s right-hand
man, also denounced reforms in the Muslim world promoted by the
United States, saying Washington would not tolerate independent
Islamic governments.

“The Americans will not allow any Islamic system to come to
power even in the heart of the Muslim world unless it
collaborates with them,” said Zawahri, who wore a black turban
and a white robe.