Al Qaeda vows to avenge Osama bin Laden’s death

Osama-bin-Laden-martyrdom-image.jpg

A banner from a jihadist website announcing announcing the death of Osama bin Laden.

Al Qaeda has announced the death of its founder and leader, Osama bin Laden, and has vowed to carry out attacks in his name.

A banner that was posted on the Atahadi jihadist forum and obtained by The Long War Journal celebrated bin Laden’s “martyrdom.”

“Here congratulations are accepted for the martyrdom of the Commander in Chief of the Brigades of Jihad throughout the world, lion of Islam, Sheikh Osama bin Laden. God have mercy on him,” the banner reads, according to a translation provided by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The SITE Monitoring Group has translated the announcement of bin Laden’s death. Al Qaeda said bin Laden’s blood “is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain,” according to a translation provided by SITE to Reuters.

“It (bin Laden’s blood) will remain, with permission from Allah the Almighty, a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries,” the al Qaeda statement said. “Their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears,” al Qaeda said.

Al Qaeda also pleaded with Pakistanis to revolt against the “clique of traitors and thieves” in their government, as well as attack Americans and drive them from the country.

“We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan, on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed, to rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves … and in general to cleanse their country from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it.”

Today’s announcement is the first official recognition from al Qaeda that their leader was killed since US Navy SEALs and CIA commanders launched a daring midnight raid that killed bin Laden and three other men, including two couriers and his son, in a safe house in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. Al Qaeda has yet to designate a successor to bin Laden.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Tags:

27 Comments

  • naresh c. says:

    CIA launched it’s first drone attack in the tribal areas in June 2004.
    Bin Laden was moved to Abbottabad right after that.
    Planning or co-incidence?

  • Nic says:

    @Bill: Any news on the Stealth helicopter? What little I have seen is that “The Pakistanis hauled the tail section away”. Will the Pakistanis return the parts to the U.S. or will they sell them to the highest bidder? Oops, I think I just wrote the definition of “stupid question.”

  • Soccer says:

    What I wonder, is where he lived right after 9/11 since moving into the compound.
    Some gitmo detainees say that he fled Tora Bora, and went NORTH to Kunar province, where he stayed for 10 months until crossing into Pakistan. From there, he probably would have crossed into Bajaur or Mohmand.
    But even after the 10 months was up, and he crossed, what happened to him then? Where did he go, where did he live, what did he do?
    Based on the circumstances of his death, I’m beginning to think that he might have been BETTER off living in a cave in North Waziristan – the Pakistani army has some good friends there, and the jihadists and Pakistani establishment know the terrain very well, so they could in theory hide him very well there. Perhaps in a cave, or even better, an underground bunker. Or maybe an underground bunker INSIDE the Miranshah army complex?
    I’m getting a little bit speculative here, but now when I look back at it, an urban area was not the best area for him to hide. Regardless of his death, Bin Laden always said that when that happens, he will be replaced by a more violent and charismatic leader in jihad.
    Knowing Al Qaeda, they will try their best to make that happen.
    When Hamid Gul was on Infowars (sorry Bill – I have to say this) he says he thinks the raid never happened, and that it was a fake Bin Laden inside a house in America. With such denial present, how can Pakistan ever get a grip on this WOT? How can they ever deal with the next wave of threats?

  • Neo says:

    “Asked why they had not checked out a building so close a major military facility the ISI said that the compound had actually been raided when the house was under construction in 2003 when the authorities believed an Al Qaeda operative Abu Faraj Al Libbi was there. On that occasion he escaped.”
    Given that from 2002 to 2005, Abu Faraj al-Libbi was al Qaeda’s No. 3 man, wouldn’t this have put a “flag” up somewhere ?

  • D D Misra says:

    From what Genral Musharaf, the former President of Pakistan, has been saying in different interviews since 12nd May it is clear that he has been protecting Usama Bin Laden since September 2001.
    In fact he has been most disappointed. The other Pakistani leaders merely fell in line o avoid antagonising the public in Pakistan.

  • Jose says:

    Rita Katz and S.I.T.E.: How two people can find out more than the CIA and FBI Combined.
    http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/4056

  • James Edward McCall says:

    I believe the U.S. army should attack Pakistan for hidding Bin Laden since we were paying our tax money to Pakistan to get rid of terroism and they were helping the terroist the whole time THEY OWE US!!!, take it over, keep it as a satellite state, and become part of OPEC where gas will be 25 cents a gallon WE DESERVE THIS! Obama step up and be a man and DECLARE WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Paul says:

    The Pakistani government still has not categorically weighed in on bin Laden. Their military, in particular, has not admitted that it failed to perform its duty to protect Pakistan by allowing bin Laden to reside there.
    In a parliamentary democracy, the ministers in charge of intelligence and defense are responsible for policy failures. Either it is the government’s position that it was OK to fail to catch bin Laden or ministers in these areas should be fired.
    If it was not government policy to allow bin Laden to reside in Pakistan, the current ministers in charge of these two areas should resign and the new ministers should clean house to get rid of the underlings who allowed this to happen.
    If it was government policy to allow bin Laden safe haven, why does Pakistan still have an air force or any armored vehicles?

  • ariana says:

    It was wrong for America to go to Pakistan and carry out their mission without Pakistan even having the slightest knowledge.
    Even the Archbishop said it must have been a very uncomfortable feeling the way America carried out the killing. If one person does bad does that mean you do the same?
    Obama will have to answer to Pakistan and what has he done to the rest of us we will have to live in fear now because of reprisals and attacks and that will be on innocent people.
    Did Obama not think about this we all know he is totally crap and people make fun out of him so I presume he had to do this deadly job to make the american people for favourtism.
    I think no matter what evil or bad one person does, it does not make it right to do the same to him. I will not travel on tubes anymore because of what America did and we innocent people will have to pay the price.
    I hope that the people in Pakistan ask America
    this question WHAT ON HELL HAS OBAMA DONE
    WHAT IS AMERICA DOING THERE IS GOING TO BE RETALIATION I HAVE JUST HEARD OSAMAS OTHER PARTY GIVE OUT A DEADLY WARNING AND I AM SHAKING.
    ARIANA

  • Stu Skinner says:

    Hats off to the Seals!
    It’s now nearly a week since Bin Laden’s death and the foolish announcement of what one administration official described as a “treasure trove” of data. Obviously all the bad guys are running for cover at this moment. But have you ever noticed how even a small-town police department rarely gives out more info than an active investigation would warrant? Yet here is our all-powerful, all-knowing national leadership blurting out all sorts of clues. Let’s just hope this is all a cunning dis-information strategy. I’m just crossing my fingers there are enough leads to entrap the rest of these murderers. Any thoughts from readers?

  • villiger says:

    “On the other side you ain’t got no virgins”
    LOL at this vid….how i found it has everything to do with the LWJ, Bill Roggio. So with his permission….and have a good weekend, all!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlOIy6QEbes&feature=youtu.be

  • Rosario says:

    It is interesting to note al Qaeda feels “betrayed” by the pakistani leadership. Too bad the helo crashed, it would have been great for the US to keep the Geronimo operation under raps for a while longer. The analysts have hit the jihadi honey pot with 2.7 Terabytes of data:
    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20060554-503543.html
    If the data is like that of al Qaeda in iraq you can bet the record keeping by bin laden was extensive and very detailed.

  • Mr T says:

    ariana said:
    “It was wrong for America to go to Pakistan and carry out their mission without Pakistan even having the slightest knowledge.”
    I disagree. What was wrong is that Pakistan tells Bin Laden everything we tell them. So therefore, we can’t tell them and they only have themselves to blame.

  • peterg says:

    I do not believe it was known in Pakistan at all.
    Look at the corruption rife within the Pakistan cricket team.
    Could there be any group of a dozen Pakistanis that, no matter how fanatical, no member of which would be prepared to sell out Bin Laden for the reward?
    I suggest not. The only way he could hide there so long was through absolute secrecy.
    Pakistan and similar countries should not be judged with the same criteria as first world countries. Their command and control systems are so much less efficient.

  • MARK says:

    If the son was in Iran with several family members for years, under house arrest, is it also possible that Iran was harboring Bin Laden for awhile before he ended up at the compound. This information does not add up, all the information released. The military is smarter than that to leave behind a tail rotor. I believe we had been watching him for years, and tracking all the couriers to and fro. That is how good intelligience works.

  • burke says:

    May he rest in hell! We rendered unto him,
    what he rendered unto the innocent victims of 9/11, a ruthless and cold blood death.
    With him out of the way, the heat will be taken
    off the Taliban. This is a good think?

  • Render says:

    Ariana –

  • James says:

    @Arianna
    Arianna, you sound to me to be almost as pusillanimous as the Pakistanis you are now trying to defend.
    Yes, the Frankenstein (which is AQ) that Pakistan has created is about to turn on its ‘maker.’
    Too bad for those people there. Who do they shiver at the most. Could it be US, or India or AQ or a combination thereof?

  • JT says:

    First, I will post a thought I put on a different thread earlier:
    “We mean it this time.” If this was not serious, that would be funny indeed. Sounds like little kids.
    Second, I wish the media would be picking up on the absolutely stupid quick release of info on the treasure trove of intel. As I posted earlier this week, the only decent explanation (which seems to have been proven not to be the case) would have been if there really had not been any treasure trove at all, and the announcement was simply to stir up communications and movement . . . .
    Third, is the small number of Taliban significant attacks so far in their “Spring offensive” significant in itself? If so, that may turn out to be very very good news. The popular uprisings across the Middle East and OBL’s demise may be helping much more than initially thought.
    Hooray.

  • BrontosaurusRex says:

    Ariana,
    Terrorists cared little for your idealistic naivety when they attacked the world trade center ten years ago, and they care little for it now.

  • sam brown says:

    Actually, those AQ guys are quite smart. They’ve figured out, quite correctly, that in the end it was those double-faced Paki benefactors of theirs who did their late, lamented Dear Leader in because Uncle Sam, tiring of being taken for a ride, finally put a gun to the head of Kayani, Pasha & Co. and said: “Enough of your monkey tricks! We’ll do it our way now and don’t you dare to even whisper!” After all, Obama, Panetta and McRaven are pretty smart people too!
    So, it is quite natural that those AQ guys and their other unsavoury friends belonging to the ‘franchises’ and companies’ should be mightily pissed off with the successors of H.E. Gen. Parvez Musharraf, former Chief of Army Staff and President of Pakistan, for not having the nerve or the skill to play the Great Game known as Deception as adroitly and as skillfully as Tricky Mush did for eight long years! Of course, once in a while even Tricky Mush was caught with his pants down and had to cough up the odd KSM, al-Libbi, etc., much to the chagrin of good ol’ Dr. Zawahiri, but certainly never, ever the Biggest Fish of them all!
    The legal folks can figure this out better but, somewhere, one thought there was a magistrate’s notice or some such thing that sought the presence of ol’ Tricky Mush to answer a few questions regarding the death of Benazir Bhutto. Tell you what, a set of such notices should now be sent from the courts to Tricky Mush and his bosom pals to answer a few questions about who exactly it was who protected and sheltered UBL since he fled from those caves in Tora Bora in the winter of 2001. The latest seems to be that Shuja Pasha, a trifling lad in comparison to the venerable but ‘evergreen’ Tricky Mush, is heading West to try and smoothen a few ruffled feathers and, who knows, answer a few uncomfortable questions as well in the process. But all the treasure troves recovered from the compound in Abbotabad would pale into insignificance if Triky Mush were compelled to spill the beans in a court of law with a grand jury waiting in the wings.

  • Paul D says:

    Looking at all the OBL protests worldwide guess where the majority is?Pakistan!!!!!!!!!!!!
    The problem is not Afghanistan or Iraq but Pakistan with Saudi funded mosques/maddrasses!
    WOT axis of evil is Pakistan,Saudi and Iran!

  • sports says:

    @ariana…you must’ve been not born yet or just a baby the last time the US attempted to coordinate with Pakistan. The fact is they’re actions have smelled of corruption and of being unreliable.
    Remember…if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…then it must be a duck.
    Bottom line…the Pakis CANNOT be trusted.

  • George says:

    I think maybe a few Pakistani officials may have known about him but not too many. They all would have had to be on his payroll. Anyone who knows anything about the Islamic world knows that Bin Laden does not enjoy widespread support and that money always comes before religious fanaticism. If Bin Laden’s location was widely known in Pakistan, it is assured that someone would (or did) spill the beans for the reward money.

  • Jonesy says:

    Pakistan has been actively helping AQ and the Taliban for years. They just got caught red handed though. I say we stop funding the Pakis and increase funding to India. Every single time we involve the Pakis in operations the other side gets tipped off! Is this mere coincidence? I think not.
    AQ and the Taliban are a bunch of cowards and murderers and I hope and pray they all rot in Hell. Osama hid behind his wife, what a hero he is.

  • Infidel4LIFE says:

    We had EVERY right. OBL got off easy. The problem is Pakistan. A “quid pro quo” is in order when it comes to aid. P-stan’s nuclear arsenal is their real target. Given the militancy in the Pak army and ISI, this is a real possibility. Hamid Gul played a part in this. I really dislike this man. He knew. We will we ever be told?

  • Render says:

    Jose – If your intent was to praise Rita Katz and SITE, why did you link to the openly Jew hating conspiracy mongers, terrorist supporters, and pathological liars of wakeupfromyourslumber?
    UNIMPRESSED,
    R

Iraq

Islamic state

Syria

Aqap

Al shabaab

Boko Haram

Isis