Al-Qaeda head Al-Zawahiri appears in new video

KABUL (Pajhwok): Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been spotted in a video released on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Al-Zawahiri was seen in the video on Saturday, multiple media outlets reported, citing the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors the online activity of extremist outfits.

Rita Katz, SITE’s director, was quoted as saying that new doubts had emerged that the 60 minutes of footage was fresh.

The Al-Qaeda chief did not mention the Taliban’s return to power and his remarks the US withdrawal from Afghanistan could have been made as early as Feb 2020.

Al-Qaeda’s official media arm as-Sahab released the hour-long video statement of al-Zawahiri, who was earlier rumoured to be dead or incapacitated.

Osama bin Laden’s successor has been underground for a long time. The news of his death from illness also circulated in November 2020.

In the latest video, released on some Telegram channels, al-Zawahiri looked healthy.

After 20 years of war, America is “broken and shattered” and finally returning from Afghanistan, he added.

PAN Monitor/mud

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