1 The Long War Journal: Martyrdom tape of failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad released

Written by Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio on July 14, 2010 11:21 AM to 1 The Long War Journal

Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/07/martyrdom_tape_of_fa.php

Video of Faisal Shahzad's martyrdom tape, from Al Arabiya.

A martyrdom videotape of failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad has appeared today on the Al Arabiya news channel. The videotape shows Shahzad wearing a black turban, Pakistani clothes, and a military-styled vest. He is seen holding an AK-47 and is often seen reading from the Koran.

In the tape, Shahzad said he is "getting revenge for the killing of Baitullah and Zarqawi, and for all the weak and oppressed and martyred among the Muslims," Arif Rafiq, the president of Vizier Consulting and editor of the Pakistani Policy Blog told The Long War Journal. "Shahzad says jihad is an integral part of Islam and emphasizes the need to spread Islam worldwide."

"I will carry this attack on their behalf, and I hope that it will please Muslims," Shahzad said in the 40-minute-long video. "With jihad, the basis of Islam can be enforced and the word of Allah and his religion will prevail," Shahzad continued. "Abandoning jihad destroys the religion and puts Muslims in an insulting position as they get robbed of land and authority."

Shahzad said jihad, or holy war, is a "pillar" of Islam, and that Muslims worldwide ignore jihad, which puts them "in a humiliating position."

"One of the most prominent things in Islam when I came to it was Jihad," Shahzad said. "People do their prayers, pay Zakat [a tax], fast, and perform Hajj [pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia]. They follow one part of the religion, and drop another, which is the fight for the sake of Allah. Jihad means holy war for the sake of God. It is one of the holiest deeds in Islam, and one of its pillars. With Jihad the word of Allah is raised higher, and his religion prevails. By abandoning it, religion is destroyed, and Muslims are put in a humiliating position; their lands are stolen, and their authority is stripped from them."

Shahzad said the war against the West and countries that are insufficiently Muslim has only just begun.

"Eight years have passed since the war in Afghanistan," Shahzad said. "You will see that the Muslims' war has just started, and we will tell you how Islam will spread all over the world."

On May 3, Shahzad was detained by the FBI when he tried to flee the country, just two days after attempting to detonate a car bomb in Times Square in New York City. He is said to be cooperating with the FBI.

Shahzad has admitted to the FBI that he was trained in a Taliban camp in Waziristan beginning in late 2009, and that he received money from the organization twice after returning to the US in early 2010.

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, led by Hakeemullah Mehsud, claimed credit for the failed Times Square bombing within hours of the failed attack. Two top leaders of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan who are currently thought to be sheltering in North Waziristan released tapes claiming the attack and threatening more attacks in the US. But senior US officials initially dismissed the reports and speculated that the attack was carried out by a "lone wolf."

In the early morning of May 2, a person identifying himself as a member of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel sent The Long War Journal the location of an audiotape made by Qari Hussain Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban master trainer of suicide bombers. In the tape, which had been uploaded to a YouTube site created by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel, Qari Hussain took credit for the failed bombing.

Significantly, Qari Hussain's audiotape was uploaded on April 30, one day before the failed attack, and the Taliban news channel was also created on April 30. On May 2, YouTube quickly removed the audiotape and shut down the site.

Sixteen hours after receiving the initial Taliban contact, The Long War Journal was contacted by a person using a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan email address who pointed to the location of a new YouTube website with both an audio and a video tape of Hakeemullah Mehsud, the leader of the al Qaeda-linked Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. In these tapes, Hakeemullah officially broke his months-long silence, denied that he had been killed in a US strike in Pakistan on Jan. 14, and threatened more attacks in the US.

US officials initially described the Times Square plot as a lone wolf attack and downplayed links to to the Pakistani Taliban. But one week after the attack, the Obama administration admitted that Shahzad was indeed linked to the Taliban.

• Videotape of Faisal Shahzad, Al Arabiya
• Pakistani Taliban claim credit for failed NYC Times Square car bombing, The Long War Journal
• Exclusive: Tapes show Hakeemullah Mehsud is alive and threatens attacks in the US, The Long War Journal

Faisal Shahzad in his martyrdom tape. Image from tape released on Al Arabiya.