| Binladen demands zarqawi body returned to jordan Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJirEvwSztaA&refer=homehttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJirEvwSztaA&refer=home
Bin Laden Warns Bush, Demands Return of Zarqawi Body (Update2)
June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Osama Bin Laden warned U.S. President George W. Bush in an audiotape broadcast today not to rejoice over the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and demanded that the body of al-Qaeda's Iraq chief be returned to Jordan.
The leader of al-Qaeda said the terrorist group will continue its ``jihad,'' or holy war, in Iraq under the command of al-Zarqawi's successor. The tape also included a message for Jordan's King Abdullah II, directing him to allow al-Zarqawi to be buried in his homeland, and promising a funeral that would show depth of al-Qaeda's support. The Central Intelligence Agency released a statement saying a technical analysis of the recording determined the voice was that of bin Laden.
``I tell Bush, you have to hand over the body of the hero to his family,'' bin Laden said. ``And don't rejoice excessively, because the banner has not fallen, thank God. It only went from a lion to another lion among the lions of Islam, and we'll continue fighting you and your allies everywhere, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan.''
Al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq before his death and responsible for suicide attacks on civilians and Iraqi and American forces, was killed June 7 in a U.S. air strike. The U.S. military identified his successor in heading al-Qaeda in Iraq as the group's former southern Iraq leader, Ayyub al-Masri, describing him as an explosives expert who is likely to use the same tactics as his predecessor.
Islamic Web Site
Al-Jazeera television aired the audiotape, which was posted on an Islamic Web site often used by al-Qaeda. Bin Laden, who issued three audiotapes earlier this year, hasn't appeared in a videotape since October 2004. He remains on the run almost five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington that killed almost 3,000 people.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, said in a June 21 videotape that he grieved for al-Zarqawi.
Al-Qaeda will continue its attacks, ``wearing down your money, killing your men, so that you go back defeated to your country, just like we defeated you before in Somalia, God willing,'' according to the latest tape. ``We're sad that Abu Musab and his companions have left us, but we're delighted that they have sacrificed their souls in these great epics, while defending the law of Islam.''
The tape included a demand that the Jordanian king stop his ``tyranny,'' with the person saying, ``You forbade Abu Musab from entering his homeland while alive, don't be an obstacle to that now.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Maher Chmaytelli in Nicosia at mchmaytelli@bloomberg.net Last Updated: June 30, 2006 10:27 EDT
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