| Alqaeda web posts threats { December 8 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26832-2002Dec8.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26832-2002Dec8.html
Web Posting Vows More Al-Qaida Strikes
By Maggie Michael Associated Press Writer Sunday, December 8, 2002; 1:27 PM
CAIRO, Egypt –– Al-Qaida threatens faster, harder strikes against the United States and Israel "on land, air and sea" in an audio statement attributed to the spokesman for the group blamed for Sept. 11 that was posted on a militant Web site Sunday.
"The Jewish Crusader coalition will not be safe anywhere from the fighters' attacks," the audio statement said, using a term common among Islamic militants for what they see as a U.S.-Israeli alliance. "We will hit the most vital centers and we will strike against its strategic operations with all possible means."
The statement was attributed to al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith. The Web site also posted a text version of the statement.
The pan-Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera broadcast parts of the audio version and the voice sounded similar to that on past al-Qaida videotapes featuring Abu Ghaith.
The Web site, which has posted previous statements attributed to the terror network, included what appeared to be a photograph taken from a frame from video of Abu Ghaith with the statement posted Sunday.
The whereabouts of Abu Ghaith, along with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, have been a mystery since the network was chased out of its Afghan haven by U.S. bombing following the Sept. 11 attacks.
"We will chase the enemy using the weapon of 'terror' by widening fighting fronts and conducting more concentrated and faster operations ... so (the enemy) feels unsafe and unstable on land, air and sea."
The statement attributed to Abu Ghaith also said a purported al-Qaida claim of responsibility for the Nov. 28 attacks on Israelis in Kenya was genuine. That claim was posted on several other Islamic sites last week.
Sunday's statement noted that al-Qaida does not usually claim responsibility for attacks, but would do so "according to the relevant circumstances."
U.S. officials have said they considered the claim of responsibility for the Kenya attacks to be credible.
Terrorism experts believe al-Qaida has made use of the Internet, which enables people to communicate cheaply, widely and anonymously. It has been difficult to trace and confirm postings attributed to al-Qaida that appear periodically on several sites.
The sites themselves often disappear and reappear, changing addresses as those who run them try to avoid being identified or after the companies that provide web services shut down sites that have drawn the attention of law enforcement authorities and journalists.
© 2002 The Associated Press
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