Times Square bomb plot suspect video threatens US

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http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100714/world/us_attacks_qaeda

Times Square bomb plot suspect video threatens US

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Wed Jul 14, 1:24 PM

DUBAI (AFP) - The man arrested for plotting a car bombing in New York's Times

Square appeared in a video on Al-Arabiya television on Wednesday in which he

said he planned to attack the United States.

" This attack on the United States will be a revenge for all the mujahedeen (holy

warriors) ... and oppressed Muslims, including ... Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, " the

late leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, said Faisal Shahzad.

The recording, whose authenticity could not immediately be confirmed, was made

in English and had an Arabic voiceover.

" I will carry this attack on their behalf, and I hope that it will please

Muslims, " the Pakistani-American Shahzad said in the first video linking him to

the abortive May 1 bomb plot and Al-Qaeda.

" With jihad (holy war), the basis of Islam can be enforced and the word of Allah

and his religion will prevail, " he said.

" Abandoning jihad destroys the religion and puts Muslims in an insulting

position as they get robbed of land and authority, " he added.

Dressed in Afghan fighters-like attire with a black turban and trimmed beard,

Shahzad appeared in a video that carried the " Umar Media " brand, with an AK-47

rifle apparently added by video editing to his left.

" Eight years have passed since the war in Afghanistan. You will see that the

Muslims' war has just started, and we will tell you how Islam will spread all

over the world, " he said, reading at some point from a book.

Dubai-based Al-Arabiya said the video was 40-minutes long. It said Shahzad

appeared in the video with Faqir Mohammed, the Taliban leader in Pakistan's

region of Bajaur, but such footage was not aired.

Shahzad, 30, who was charged with international terrorism, allegedly drove a

Nissan sports utility vehicle crammed with a large but malfunctioning bomb into

Manhattan's busiest neighbourhood, as thousands flocked to theatres and tourist

attractions.

He was arrested just before his flight left New York's JFK airport and 53 hours

after police found the homemade bomb smouldering in the SUV parked outside a

theatre staging " The Lion King " musical.

The notorious Zarqawi, who orchestrated a bloody campaign of attacks and

beheadings, was killed north of Baghdad in a US air strike in 2006 after long

eluding capture as Iraq's most-wanted fugitive.

News reports at the time of his arrest said Shahzad lived in Connecticut and had

recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan including the city of

Peshawar, a known jumping off point for Al-Qaeda and Taliban recruits.

The only group to have claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing was the

Pakistani militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban.

New York has been on constant watch for potential attacks since the September

11, 2001, airliner attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, killing almost

3,000 people.