23 Years Later, Al-Qaeda Threatens 'Third 9/11' After October 7, Exhorts Pro-Palestinian Protesters In U.S. To Take The Next Step And Carry Out Attacks

Al-Qaeda Enjoys A Revival In Afghanistan – And Its New Leader Is Heard

Today marks the23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. While Al-Qaeda is not what it once was, it remains a strong terrorist organization with followers across the world, including those who seek to enter the U.S. and those already here plotting their next attack. This past year, Al-Qaeda's presence in Afghanistan has grown – growth that began following the U.S. withdrawal – and it is once again closely tied to the Taliban. It has established new training camps and madrassas, but most troubling are reports that Al-Qaeda members are part of the Taliban government.

Since the death of leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri two years ago, the organization's new leader Saif Al-'Adl – rumored to be in Iran, and for information about whom the U.S. government is offering up to $10 million – has yet to appear in any videos. But he has released essays under his multiple noms de plume.

One major event that shaped Al-'Adl's focus this past year was October 7; he has praised both the attack and Hamas.  In a February essay, he called "the Palestinian mujahideen" a "towering moral summit to which no nationalist or Islamic liberation movement has preceded them." He also praised Hamas as "giants of asymmetric warfare," noting their successes in the current war despite their weaker capabilities relative to those of Israel's military.

Al-'Adl was heard from most recently on July 16, 2024, when Al-Sahab, the media division of Al-Qaeda Central, published Part Four of his 17-page essay offering suggestions for improving the mujahideen's combat tactics and skills. Assessing the war in Gaza and Hamas's October 7 attack, he noted that a key lesson is that there should be no repeat of the tactic of taking hostages, and called for killing potential captives instead: "Taking [people] as prisoners was not and will not be a deterrent weapon. The Jews destroyed everything, knowing that the Muslims would not cause any harm to the prisoners because Islam urges them not to. However, Islam also tells us that killing takes precedence over taking prisoners."

Al-Malahem, an official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published another article by Al-'Adl on June 5, 2024, as part of Issue 18 of its Sada Al-Malahem ("Echo of Epics") magazine. The three-page article seeks to motivate the mujahideen by showing them the effectiveness of jihad, pointing to the 9/11 attacks' lasting damage to America's economy and stature on the world stage. Addressing his fellow jihadis as well as their Muslim detractors and enemies, Al-'Adl wrote: "Have we achieved anything, or are we going around in circles pointlessly?" To answer this question, he contrasts the current reality with the reality of nearly a quarter of a century ago, before Al-Qaeda leaders masterminded the September 11 attacks, designating the U.S. as their main target in the belief that "striking the head would cause the limbs to disintegrate." Before 9/11 – but not now – the U.S. was the undisputed world leader after the fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, having become the "strongest power in the history of humanity," dominating all other countries militarily, economically, and culturally..

Praising the men behind 9/11, the Al-Qaeda leader wrote: "A group of bearded men with humble features, from whose beards the water of ablution dripped... and who had tasted the glory of jihad for the sake of Allah" decided to launch a series of attacks on the U.S., in order to "weaken the image of the American beast in the eyes of the Muslims, so that the Muslims could see that they can regain their honor." Insisting that the 9/11 attacks had changed the course of history, he declared: "Let every brother and sister in all jihadi arenas know that he was a cause of this – by Allah's grace... and that each of these sacrifices... was a building block toward achieving this great victory."[1]

The MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) team daily monitors Al-Qaeda supporters online from all over the world – supporters with their own media outlets, websites, and hierarchy for posting daily content from the main body to branches around the world. Every day its supporters – in the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, U.K., Germany, and globally – produce, translate, and distribute content aimed at citing attacks, in the form of magazines, posters, videos, and more. They also continue to celebrate 9/11 and promise another, similar attack in the future, with images from and mentions of that day a theme recurring in many releases. 

Throughout the 23 years since the September 11, 2001 attacks, MEMRI has been monitoring, translating, and documenting content about the attacks in media from the Middle East and South Asia, and especially from the jihadi world. The MEMRI 9/11 Documentation Project archives all MEMRI translations, analysis, and clips about the attacks and their aftermath, and has amassed one of the largest and most unique archives in the world on this subject. These archives allow for an in-depth examination of the ideological roots and other factors that ultimately led to the attacks. The archived content includes primary source material from Arab and Islamic print, broadcast, and online media and other sources; material from Al-Qaeda and affiliates, including leaders' speeches, interviews, wills, and statements; material from ISIS on 9/11; Al-Qaeda recruitment, outreach, and indoctrination materials, and more. Research that has been added to the archives over this past year is used in the following article – and some of it is seen here for the first time.

From Al-Qaeda's 2023 9/11 Celebrations And Chatter To This Year's Anniversary

As they do every year, Al-Qaeda supporters online celebrate 9/11. In the lead-up to this year's anniversary, on September 8, a prominent Al-Qaeda supporter on Telegram reminded his fellow supporters that the 9/11 anniversary was only three days away, and asked: "What have you prepared for it?" He added: "If we do not spread awareness of the raid's goals, then who will? This is our chance to guide the largest [possible] segment of children of the ummah." In a second post, he suggested several types of media that could be prepared for the 23rd anniversary: posters quoting Al-Qaeda leaders' statements about the attacks' aims, connecting them to the Palestinian cause; posters quoting statements about U.S. support for "the Jews"; speeches by leaders republished for the occasion, especially short excerpts from them; books and articles; videos; and holding and participating in workshops about posting on Facebook, Twitter, and other mainstream platforms. The last is "kthe most important, because without it, there is no benefit to all the above." Also suggested was starting discussions in "conservative Telegram groups" explaining the reasons for the attacks "rationally and neutrally, and in a language that the masses can understand."

It was to be expected that on this year's 9/11 anniversary, Al-Qaeda and all jihadi groups would go online for commemorations. On September 10, 2023, the Al-Sahab Media Foundation released Issue 11 of its Arabic-language Ummah Wahidah ("One Ummah") magazine. The issue included a wide-ranging analytical article by one 'Issam Al-Maghribi titled "The Future Of The New World Order after 9/11." In it, he maintains that 9/11 had clarified that the unipolar world order, led by the U.S., had failed and that there is no alternative but to destroy it in order to replace it with a new, multipolar world order "in which the Islamic nation will play a leading and influential role." According to Al-Maghribi, Al-Qaeda is laying the groundwork for this process by returning the world to the days of the Cold War, instigating wars between Western and Eastern countries, and stirring up internal conflict in the U.S. and in Russia. He contends that 9/11 achieved most of these objectives, that they also ushered "a new player" into the international arena in the form of global jihad, and that they brought about the consolidation of the Chinese-Russian strategic alliance to face "the remnants of the Western threat."[2]

Last year, in the September 2023 issue of its Urdu-language journal Nawa-i-Ghazwa-e-Hindi ("The Voice of the Battle of India"), Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) had published several articles marking the 22nd anniversary of 9/11. The editorial noted that Al-Qaeda leader "Sheikh Osama bin Laden [had] created one group from among the Muslim Ummah which was not overcome and influenced in any way by America." The editorial says of the 9/11 attackers: "And these lovers of Allah rose and raised the slogan of La Ilaha Illallah [There is no deity but Allah] before the American Pharaoh and said that we do not accept any system except the shari'a of Muhammad (peace be upon him)! This slogan of theirs was not just an oral statement; rather these mujahideen, sunk in the joy and passion of faith, undertook such a mission which the world knows by the name of 9/11." The editorial cites a number of Western media reports to point out the losses to America in the decades following 9/11. "All of these are just the beginning. America is an elephant; an elephant takes time to die. This elephant will still crush many of its allies under its feet," says the editorial.[3] 

Al-Qaeda Celebrates This Year

This anniversary, like every 9/11 anniversary, the MEMRI JTTM has found Al-Qaeda media online celebrating the attacks, on platforms including Telegram, X, and others.  The following are a few of the posts from Al-Qaeda:

On September 11, AQAP's Al-Malahem Media released a 36-minute video titled "Reflections on Two Invasions," linking the September 11 attacks to Hamas's October 7 attack. The video is comprised mainly of the commentary of Sheikh Khubaib Al-Sudani, delivered in Arabic and accompanied by English subtitles. Among other statements, the sheikh claims that September 11 and October 7 were historical turning points because they proved that the U.S. is not a superpower, and that Israel's army is not unbeatable; Hamas's actions have shown that nothing is impossible, and the war has proven that the U.S. is the greatest enemy of Muslims in the world; American support for Israel proves that Al-Qaeda's focus on attacks against the U.S. is justified; and that America is "the root of evil in the world," and once it falls, its allies will follow. Addressing lone wolf attackers in the West, Al-Sudani calls it "a shame" that the assassination attempt of Donald Trump was carried out by an unbeliever, urging Muslims in the West to attack Western leaders. He also suggests traveling to Israel to carry out attacks against Jews there.

On September 10, the pro-Al-Qaeda Enfal Media released a 26-second video showing a plane flying across the screen and an image of Osama bin Laden standing on a rock, with the Turkish-language caption "September 11" and a famous quote by bin Laden, translated into Turkish: "If it were possible to convey our messages to you by words, we would not have conveyed them to you by planes."

On September 10, the pro-Al-Qaeda Al-Wathibun Foundation released a poster in Arabic and English versions showing scenes of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon. It quotes Osama bin Laden as saying that the attacks were a reaction to events in Palestine, Iraq, and other countries and that they demonstrate that the U.S. economy is "fragile and easily collapsed." Bin Laden celebrated the attacks being carried out not by the Arab states or their armies, but by "19 high school students" who "shook the throne of America" and struck its economy and military power.

Since October 7, Al-Qaeda's Strategy Has Been To Attempt To Coopt The Pro-Palestinian Protests In The U.S. And To Instigate Attacks 

Over the past year, Al-Qaeda's main narrative has been that October 7 was a direct follow-up to 9/11. The group has taken a notable interest in discussing and showing support for pro-Palestinian protests by students in the West, in many ways tying themselves to that movement.  Many of Al-Qaeda's main media outlets expressed support for Hamas and its successful attack. On October 13, 2023, just days after the attack, Al-Sahab released a three-page statement celebrating the attack as a "blessed battle" that had changed the course of jihad and the "rules of combat." Israel's "encroachment" on Al-Aqsa, it said, makes it certain that "the coming flood of Islamic heroes will make the Zionists and the Crusaders forget the horrors" of 9/11. It incited attacks in countries that have normalized relations with Israel and called on jihadis to target U.S. bases, airports, and embassies in the Islamic world. It added that "the heroes of Islam" must "shake the ground beneath the American bases, airports, and embassies in our Islamic region" and "target the Crusader battleships that are bringing support to Israel in Muslim seas."

Moving on to praise the attack's outcome as a "major shift in the path of global jihad" and a "radical change in the rules of fighting," Al-Qaeda then appealed to Muslims everywhere to join the battle, that it described as "the most important Islamic step towards the liberation of all of Palestine," saying: "We call on them to mobilize and wage jihad with all they can, and we urge them to interact positively with this Islamic flood, and to engage in the boycott of everything Western and Jewish..."

Al-Qaeda stressed in the statement that Muslims must unite against the camp of "global unbelief" and answer the call for jihad in Palestine and elsewhere. It said: "Now that the mujahideen of Palestine have mobilized the entire nation to participate in their blessed jihad, there is no excuse for anyone to claim that the battle is only within Palestinian itself..."  It added that jihad is a religious duty incumbent upon all Muslims, hailed the Hamas attack as a "holy war" that declared that the door was open for all Muslim youth, and that after today, no one has any excuse not to become involved. It stated: "The [Islamic] nation must provide everything in its power, and make generous sacrifices, to champion the faith and defend the sanctities with everything precious – lives, money, and children – and by all available means. This is an obligation incumbent upon rulers and commoners, rich and poor, men and women, Arabs and non-Arabs."[4]

On December 30, 2023, Al-Sahab published Issue 41 of its Al-Nafir bulletin. Titled "Third 9/11," the issue threatened the U.S. over its support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.  The text declares as "surprising" that the U.S. has apparently "learned nothing" from the "first 9/11," or from the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, which it describes as the "second 9/11." Hence, "all the current indicators" point to a third 9/11 "without a doubt." According to the writer, the "third 9/11" will not be perpetrated solely by mujahideen, as the expansion of the "circle of anger" and desire to take revenge on the U.S. will likely produce a non-Muslim "9/11 hero." The writer asks: "The hearts of how many 'Osamas' are filled with rage against the U.S.? How many of them wait for an appropriate opportunity to heal their hearts and the Muslims' hearts from it [the U.S.]? How many 9/11s are running through the minds of free Muslims?"[5]

In addition to Al-Qaeda Central releases, its regional branches also stated their support for the October 7 attacks. On October 29, 2023, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) published a one-hour Arabic-language video titled "Questions and Answers Regarding Operation Al-Aqsa Flood." The video featured the group's leader, Sheikh Khalid Omar Batarfi, discussing October 7, expressing his approval, and inciting Muslims, and jihadis in particular, to kill citizens of the U.S., Israel, the U.K., and France. He called operations like 9/11 the best example for deterring the U.S. and other Western countries from supporting Israel.

Answering the first question about AQAP's view of "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" – Hamas's term for the October 7 attack – Batarfi  joined other spokesmen from Al-Qaeda branches in blessing and expressing support for it. He praised what he called the secrecy surrounding the planning, the element of surprise, and the masterful execution, and commended the "blessed and carefully selected timing, which coincided with the holy Jewish holiday Sukkot." The attack, he said, "will inspire the current generation as well as many to follow." Batarfi went on to talk about the "International Islamic Front for Fighting the Jews and the Crusaders," established by Osama bin Laden in 1998. He argued that this campaign flowed from the "established truth" that the Jews, the Americans, and the unbeliever West are "two faces of the same coin." He also reiterated bin Laden's call to target Americans: "We call on our Muslim brethren everywhere, in the West and the East, in Muslim and non-Muslim lands, to kill every Jew, American, and British citizen, for by Allah those will never be deterred without similar blessed acts."

He continued: "There needs to be a deterrent to dissuade these enemies, and there is no better example than the 9/11 attack, and all operations before and after it." "Prepare yourselves for the upcoming decisive battles," he said in a message to the mujahideen everywhere, adding that "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood certainly has its repercussions" and for those following Al-Qaeda to "center your focus these days on the Jews and the Americans everywhere. Sink their vessels, down their planes, raid their barracks, and eliminate every one of their soldiers. Do not spare any barracks or any event without attacking them. This is your duty. Strike them in their own backyard and everywhere. The world today is an arena for Muslims' operations against Jews, the Americans, British, and French citizens, and all who stood with the Jews and the Crusaders against the Islamic ummah."

In conclusion, Batarfi addressed all Muslims, saying that the battle with the Jews and the Christians is a "battle of faith."[6]

The Al-Andalus Foundation, which is the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), published a 39-minute video titled "Al-Aqsa Flood Is More Powerful Than The Jews," on November 11, 2023. The video included an audio message from senior AQIM operative Abu Yasir Al-Jaza'iri, comparing Hamas's October 7 invasion of southern Israel to 9/11. Calling it part of the battle between truth and falsehood, Al-Jaza'iri said that it represents "the first tidings of victory" and shows "the coming revival of Islam and the Muslims." He explained that unlike in Islam, the "unbeliever West" has no moral guidelines or limitations regarding war: "Hatred of others, and the desire to conquer, kill, and expel them, are rooted in the faith and civil society of the Western nations, and particularly among the white man." Therefore, he said, Muslims must abandon any ideas of peaceful coexistence with the West and must see it as an enemy.[7]

On August 14, 2024, an Al-Qaeda follower on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.chat server posted Issue Six of Inspire The Believers, the pro-Al-Qaeda magazine. The issue featured posters inciting attacks against pro-Israel protesters and celebrating Al-Qaeda operatives imprisoned in Guantanamo. One poster depicted an attacker carrying a duffel bag at a pro-Israel rally, and the protesters watching a fiery explosion on a large screen. An arrow pointed to the bag, presumably holding an explosive device. The text on the poster stated: "Treatment for the Zionists' headaches." Another poster celebrated 13 Al-Qaeda operatives being held in Guantanamo, with their photos behind barbed wire; blood-spattered text stated "The Lions of Guantanamo." Three of the photos are of 9/11 attackers: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash, and Mustafa Al-Hawsani.[8]

On July 27, 2024, the pro-Al-Qaeda Al-Nusra Media Foundation again circulated a series of Arabic-language posters inciting attacks in the U.S., urging would-be attackers to follow the path of past perpetrators of attacks on U.S. soil. Featuring photos of these perpetrators, the posters suggested that the likelihood of the replication of large-scale attacks such as 9/11 was now "greater than ever before."  One poster suggested that replication of attacks like 9/11 against the U.S. is likely. It stated: "One of the motives behind the September 11 attacks was America's unlimited support for the Zionist Jews. Today, America supports the Zionists at a greater rate than before, and even openly participates in the killing of our brothers in Gaza. Therefore, the possibility of repeating operations similar to what happened on September 11 is greater today than ever before. So, wait, O Americans, we are waiting with you."

Another poster encouraged further incitement against the backdrop of images of President Biden's support for Israel and the protests that followed in the U.S. and elsewhere, in hopes of inspiring attacks in the West. The poster stated: "We urge Muslims in America to pay attention to the creative idea of ​​Inspire magazine, and to apply it to White House staff, to members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and in general to all supporters of America's unjust policies."[9]

On May 24, 2024, Al-Sahab released a three-page statement titled "Support and Endorsement of the Lone-Lion Operations Against the Zionist Aggressors." In addition to inciting the "assassination and beheading of the infidel Zionists," Al-Qaeda General Command, it said, values the protest movements of Western demonstrators and student sit-ins at various universities in the West who continue "to voice rejection of the genocide taking place in Gaza." The statement went on to remind Muslims, including those living in the West, that the "divine shari'a duty" with which they are charged is not the same as the duty of the youth of the West, who have, it said, "spared" Muslims the duty of support with their demonstrations, strikes, and sit-ins in the West. It continued: "You are bound to a predestined religious duty, which is jihad and fighting, like the Vanguards of Liberation – Group of Muhammad Salah, may Allah grant success to their strikes targeting the throats of the Zionists… Let the Muslim youth create groups that master the art of disciplining the Jews, Americans, and those who ally with them..."

Throughout the past year, Al-Qaeda has attempted to capitalize on the October 7 attacks and the subsequent pro-Palestinian protests in the West and the U.S., seeking to identify recruits for lone-wolf operations. Against the backdrop of footage of massive crowds of protesters in Western cities struggling with police and carrying Palestinian flags and pro-Hamas signs at government buildings and other landmarks, a major video release by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), titled "What America & The West Do Not Expect" and dated December 30, 2023, addressed the protestors: "Today is your day, all Muslims in America and Europe – and with you, revenge will be achieved... so do not be content with denouncing and denunciation." It concluded with the statement: "Know that we and Muslims around the world pray for you to succeed in your next jihadi operation." The video seeks to prompt would-be jihadis to abandon protesting and switch to attack mode.

Al-Qaeda Central Command devoted a November 24 essay to chiding the protestors in the West, calling their efforts insufficient and stressing that "America needs a new civil war." In another major essay, on November 29, it exhorted protestors to launch "civil disobedience" campaigns around the world – which are, in effect, already underway – and to carry out attacks.

Al-Qaeda exhorted Americans and Europeans to join in on the "civil disobedience." In the November 29 essay, defining this as action to "completely paralyz[e] political life in order to topple the collaboration regime and to build a regime that will express your ambitions and achieve your goals." The essay gave specific instructions: "Disable all forms of transportation in the country – trains, buses, and planes... Disrupt the business cycle... The masses must seize control." It added that the "angry masses of our ummah" must establish "secret and public security groups, both of them armed" that will "[b]e prepared to eliminate" state security forces "without pity, before they eliminate you."

AQAP released a video titled "Jihad for the Sake of Allah is the Solution," on February 8, 2024, a nine-minute video that was also part of the relaunch of Inspire magazine. It urged viewers to carry out lone wolf attacks in the U.S., advising protestors to abandon demonstrators for armed jihad and calling this "the only solution to restore Palestine." In the video, former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ibrahim Al-Qosi addresses would-be lone wolf attackers in the West: "Oh lone mujahid in the West, particularly in America, make the flood of your lone operations an extension to the blessed operation of Al-Aqsa Flood, which your brothers in Palestine have started, until the liberation of Jerusalem from the Jews' captivity, with the permission of Allah... We say to you: Today is your day! So draw your weapon and rise to a paradise as vast as the heavens and the Earth."  Referring specifically to the protests in the West, he called on those on the streets protesting to terrorist attacks for retribution against Israel, "The oppression and hostility of those can only be repelled by a flood of whizzing bullets, the stabs of daggers, the blasting of car-bombs, improvised explosive devices, and the running over by cars."

23 Years After 9/11, Al-Qaeda Is Resurgent – And Has A New Pool Of Recruits

This past year has seen a resurgent Al-Qaeda. It is back in Afghanistan. It has a new leader. It has a new pool of recruits – not because of Israel's actions inside Gaza, but because Hamas's jihadi attack on Israel has energized the jihadi world. There have been arrests around the world the past year, reflecting its adherents' ongoing plotting. Still, until they are able to pull off a major attack, they will remain a shell of who they were 23 years ago.

*Steven Stalinsky is Executive Director of MEMRI.