Al-Qaeda Blasts Tanker as a Reminder

Bin Laden warns it’s just beginning
The explosion and fire onboard the French supertanker Limburg, in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen on October 6 was a terrorist attack likely committed by a Marine Jihad group closely connected with al-Qaeda.

Investigators found a large oval-shaped hole in the tanker’s boarding. Witnesses say, right before the blast they saw a small boat driven by suicide terrorists directly against the tanker which held about 400,000 barrels of crude oil. Twelve of the 25-member crew were wounded in the fire and a Bulgarian citizen is missing.

Right before the aniversary of September 1l, the U.S. Naval Command (Manama headquarters, Bahrain) warned all ship-owners of possible terrorist attacks on tankers. However, despite the warning the traffic volume didn’t reduce, as business was more important than fear.

Yesterday al-Qaeda voiced new threats toward the U.S. and its allies. Qatar television "Al-Jazeera" broadcast the voice of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is said to be the finance aide to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

“America and its allies should know that their crimes will be revenged,” the tape says. “We recommend them to immediately leave Palestine, Arabian Peninsular, Afghanistan and all Muslim countries, otherwise they will lose everything.” Germany and France were specially emphasized among the U.S. allies. The tape also says, young Mujahideens already sent several warnings to France and Germany; if they prove ineffective, more attacks would be committed.

The voice which is said to belong to Zawahiri says, the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan “failed to succeed.” A year after launching the campaign in Afghanistan the U.S. and its allies still can’t liquidate al-Qaeda and Taleban leaders. The tape also touches upon the Mideast problem. Ayman al-Zawahiri says that the U.S. plan to attack Iraq with a view “to destroy any power standing close to Israel.” It is also mentioned that the U.S. “wants to split Saudi Arabia to seize its oil, and special attention is paid to Arabia’s eastern part.”

Dmitry Chirkin PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/10/09/48172.html

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