A New Audio Message by Al-Zawahiri
On January 23, 2007, the Islamist websites posted a 14-minute audio tape by Al-Qaeda deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri titled "The Correct Equation." The following is a summary of Al-Zawahiri's message:
Al-Zawahiri opens by mocking Bush's decision to send an additional 20,000 soldiers to Iraq, asking: "Why won't you send 50,000 or 100,000 soldiers... in fact, you should send all your army to be annihilated by the mujhaideen so the world will be relieved of your evil and of that of your army"
Next, Al-Zawahiri addresses the U.S. military, saying: "If you wish to live in security, you should accept reality... and strive to achieve [mutual] understanding with Muslims. Then and only then will you enjoy security. Security is a mutual fate: If we enjoy security, you will, and if we are not harmed you will not be harmed. [However], if we are harmed and killed, you will experience the same fate. This is the correct equation... You face [today] the Islamic rage and the awaking of the jihad of the Islamic nation. What lies in store for you if you persist in your [ways] is worse than what you have seen [so far]."
Al-Zawahiri then calls upon all Muslims to take up arms, or at least to assist the mujahideen, because "every Muslim is directly responsible for defending Islam, the abode of Islam, and the Islamic nation, and is required to do his utmost to release Muslim prisoners; first among these [prisoners] is Sheikh 'Abd Al-Rahman."
Al-Zawahiri ends his message by referring to the situation in Somalia, saying that President Bush has placed his "Ethiopian servants" in a predicament in Somalia and that the mujahideen will break the Ethiopian force. "The Americans have sent them to die," Al-Zawahiri asserted, "and they won't cry over them."
The Islamic State in Iraq Claims Responsibility for the Downing of an American Blackhawk Helicopter
On January 22, 2007, the Islamic State in Iraq posted a communiqué on the Islamist websites in which it claims to have downed a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter in Bahraz, Diyali on January 21, 2007. According to the message, the helicopter was downed by "a group belonging to the air defense forces of Bahraz, Diyali."
Video Showing the Attack on Bus of Brown & Root - Condor Personnel in Algeria
On January 21, 2007, Islamist websites posted an eight minute film, titled "The Raid of Bouchaoui" (http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=483850&ak=null ), documenting the December 10, 2006 attack by the Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) on a bus transporting employees of Brown & Root - Condor in Algeria.
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[1] The film's title states that it was produced by the GSPC media division. It opens with two segments from previous video messages by Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri; the first contains a general threat against "those who oppress Muslims," while the second specifically warns countries participating in the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq that their lands and worldwide interests will be targeted by the mujahideen.
The film then proceeds to show the planning stages of the attack. Following the opening titles, which describe the target, the film shows the mujahideen using aerial images of DigitalGlobe, a company based in Colorado which supplies high-quality earth imagery, and carrying out reconnaissance to gather information about the attack location. As the road signs suggest, the attack location was in the vicinity of Bouzareah.
The next segment shows the mujahideen preparing the explosive devices and other equipment to be used in the attack, while in the background a computer screen shows footage of Muslim prisoners.
Finally, the film shows the explosion when the bus, which the title says is carrying 25 American employees, takes an exit ramp off the highway.
Below are images from the film.
[1] For more on the GSPC communiqué claiming responsibility for the attack, see MEMRI Islamist Website Monitor No. 34, December 13, 2006, Islamist Websites Monitor No. 34
