In Audio Eulogy for Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid, Ayman Al-Zawahiri Mentions Times Square Attack and Promises More to Come

On July 27, 2010, Al-Qaeda's media wing Al-Sahab released a new 47-minute audio message from Ayman Al-Zawahiri, in which he eulogized his longtime companion and fellow Al-Qaeda commander Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid (Sa'id Al-Masri). Al-Zawahiri also addressed a broad range of other issues in the course of his message: he promised that victory is near in Iraq and Afghanistan; threatened further attacks in the U.S. and the West; belittled the Gaza flotilla and urged the Turks to reassume the role of the Ottoman Empire as the defender of Muslim lands; and decried France's ban on the niqab, among other topics. The video bears the date of Rajab 1431 [June-July 2010].

Following are excerpts:

"Our Dead Are in Paradise, and Your Dead Are in Hellfire"

"The Crusader spy planes, guided by the traitorous, collaborator Pakistani military intelligence apparatus, rained nine missiles on the house of the sheikh [Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid], may Allah have mercy on him, and killed him, and his family, and seven of the ansar [i.e. the Taliban], who loved the sheikh and assisted him, may Allah have mercy on them all. The killed the sheikh, his family, and his helpers, and we will kill them all day, by Allah's grace. But this is not the same [for us and for you]:

"At the battle of Uhud [in which the Muslims lost], Abu Sufyan [then a leader of the Meccan polytheists] stood up and said: 'This battle evens out the battle of Badr' [which the Muslims won]... The Prophet of Allah, Allah's prayer and peace be upon him, replied: 'This is not the same [for us and for you]. Our dead live on, and receive sustenance [from their Lord; cf. Quran 3:169], while your dead are being tormented in Hellfire.' 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said to [Abu Sufyan]: 'This is not the same. Our dead are in Paradise, and your dead are in Hellfire'.

"Our dead are paving the way for the victory of Islam, and your dead are bringing you closer to the abyss of defeat. Our dead are vying with one another for Paradise, and your dead flee from their end. The closer victory gets, the more martyrs we offer up; this is how we bring victory..."

In Iraq the Americans Are Leaving, but the Mujahideen Are Staying

"... General John [sic] Odierno went to the White House to tell Obama what he likes to hear: that the situation in Iraq permits the reduction of the troop force starting next August, from 80,000 to 50,000, and to give him the good news that jihad operations had dropped in Iraq to their lowest level - as he claimed - and that the American troops and their Iraqi collaborators had succeeded in killing and arresting 34 out of a total of 42 wanted Al-Qaeda commanders.

"This deceiver is deceiving himself, his President, and his people, and is ignoring the great realities in Iraq - namely, that the Americans have been defeated in Iraq due to the blows of the mujahideen, and first and foremost among them the Islamic State of Iraq; and that the Americans are leaving Iraq, while the mujahideen, and first and foremost among them the Islamic State of Iraq, are remaining, Allah willing..."

Threats of Further Attacks in the U.S. and the West

"Oh American people, and peoples of the Crusader alliance: you are the ones who are paying the price, and it is a high price. Your leaders are collecting money from the war trade, and you are the fuel for these wars, and their victims. We offered you a peace plan, and mutual benefit; but your governments were proud and haughty, and so the attacks against you followed one after another, everywhere - from Indonesia to Times Square, by way of Madrid and London. And the attacks are ongoing, and more [mujahideen] will come one after another, by Allah's grace... ...