Al-Qaeda claims London attacks

2005-09-20 07:12

Cairo - Al-Qaida deputy Ayman al-Zawahri said his terror network carried out the July 7 London bombings in a statement broadcast on an Arab satellite television station, marking the group's first direct claim of responsibility for the attacks that killed 52 people.

The Egyptian-born militant also criticized the legitimacy of Sunday's Afghanistan parliamentary elections and condemned Pakistan - the one-time ally of Afghanistan's deposed Taliban regime - for forging strong ties with the United States.

"The blessed London attack was one which al-Qaeda was honoured to launch against the British Crusader's arrogance and against the American Crusader aggression on the Islamic nation for 100 years," al-Zawahri said in the tape aired Monday on Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV.

"In their final testament, the heroic brothers in the London attacks... provided great lessons to the Islamic nation and Muslims in Pakistan to oppose the infidels," said al-Zawahri, who wore a black turban and white shirt and spoke to someone off-camera who was interviewing him.

In another tape aired on September 2, al-Zawahri, who is thought to be hiding along the rugged Afghan-Pakistani border, issued a veiled claim of responsibility for the attacks that also killed the four bombers.

"This blessed attack revealed the real hypocritical face of the West," said the bushy gray bearded al-Zawahri in his latest tape, which included English subtitles and credits saying it was produced and translated by al-Sahab Media Production House.

While there was no immediate way to verify al-Zawahri's claim, the coordinated attacks on three London underground stations and a double-decker bus bore all the hallmarks of the group that has claimed responsibility for numerous bombings, including the September 11, 2001 attacks.

- SAPA