Hans Rustad Den antatte lederen for selvmordsbomberne i London 7. juli, Mohammad Sidique Khan (30), opptrer på en video som ble sendt av Al Jazeera ikveld. Flere har spekulert i at det ville komme en slik video.
Al-Qaidas nestleder Ayman al-Zawahiri opptrer på samme video. Det gir sterk indikasjon på at Al-Qaida var innblandet.
Khan nevner Osama bin Ladens navn. Språket er krigersk: demokratiene fører krig mot muslimer. Hvis de ikke holder opp vil det komme flere angrep.
«Until we feel secure you will be our targets. Until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture … we will not stop this fight. We are at war and I am a soldier.»
Al Qaidas nestleder Ayman al-Zawahirir kom også med nye trusler mot Storbritannia og andre land som er engasjert i Irak, Palestina og Afghanistan.
«The lands and interests of the countries which took part in the aggression against Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan are targets for us,» Zawahiri said in the tape, in which he also called the July 7 London bombings a «slap for the policy» of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
«We will respond in kind to all those who took part in the aggression on Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine,» said Zawahiri, shown with an automatic rifle at his side.
Al-Zawahiri sier Vesten avviste tilbudet fra Osama bin Laden om å vurdere Al-Qaidas krav, i den tre måneder lange våpenhvilen han erklærte rett etter Madrid-bombene ifjor.
«I talk to you today about the blessed London battle which came as a slap to the face of the tyrannical, crusader British arrogance,» al-Zawahri said. «It’s a sip from the glass that the Muslims have been drinking from.»
«This blessed battle has transferred — like its glorious predecessors in New York, Washington, and Madrid — the battle to the enemies’ land, after many centuries of the battle being on our (Muslim) land and after (Western) troops have occupied our land in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine.»
