Al-Qaeda leader who is Osama bin Laden's pal appears in video after death rumours
dailystar.co.ukbanned the wearing of hijabs, which happened in February 2022.Al-Zawahiri, who took over al-Qaeda after Bin Laden’s death in 2011, praised Muslim student Muskan Khan after she wore the Islamic scarf at a school in Karnataka state.The Egyptian-born doctor accused "the pagan Hindu democracy of India" of seeking to "oppress Muslims".He also branded France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, as well as Egyptand Morocco, as "enemies of Islam" for their anti-hijab policies.Al-Zawahiri last appeared in a video last year on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
In that clip, he said "Jerusalem will never be Judaized" and praised al-Qaeda attacks.He praised one attack that targeted Russian troops in Syria in January last year, which came after the rumours that he had died from illness emerged.
The group said the raid on Russian troops happened on New Year's Day.The footage was produced and reportedly released by Al-Qaeda's official media arm As-Sahab, and it was released 20 years to the day since a series of coordinated plane hijackings by al-Qaeda killed almost 3,000 people.To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here .
It is the first glimpse of al-Zawahari since rumours began circulating that he had died, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist websites.SITE'S director Rita Katz tweeted: "Amid rumours of his death Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri shown in a new 60-minute video, this time offering evidence that he is not dead - particularly, reference to events after December when rumours of death surfaced.Al-Zawahiri's speech noted the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
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