Computer in Kabul holds chilling memos: PC used by al-Qaida leaders reveals 4 years of terrorism

Last May, someone sat down at an IBM desktop here and typed out a polite letter to a bitter foe of al-Qaida, the anti-Taliban leader Ahmed Shah Massoud. The writer tapped at the computer for 97 minutes, according to its internal record, then printed out the fruit of his labor: a request for an interview with Massoud, to be conducted by “one of our best journalists, Mr. Karim Touzani.”

ON SEPT. 9, two men posing as journalists, one carrying a passport in the name of Karim Touzani, detonated a hidden bomb as they interviewed Massoud. The legendary Afghan commander was mortally wounded. Two days later came the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Now, as al-Qaida, the group blamed for all of those lethal attacks, is uprooted from its Afghan sanctuaries, it is leaving behind cyber-fingerprints. The letter to Massoud is one of hundreds of text documents and video files in a computer evidently used for four years by al-Qaida chieftains in Kabul. Its hard drive is a repository for correspondence with militant Muslims around the world, portraying al-Qaida bosses struggling to administer, inspire and discipline the sprawling global organization.

Dating from early 1997 through this fall, the files paint a picture of both ghoulish ambitions and quotidian frustrations within an organization that, despite its medieval zealotry, sometimes mimicked a multinational corporation. Memos refer to al-Qaida as “the company” and its leadership as “the general management.”

The computer files don’t appear to detail the plotting of Sept. 11 or to contain any clear plans for future attacks. But hundreds of documents, ranging from the murderous to the mundane, illuminate issues bearing on America’s war on terrorism.

Files outlining al-Qaida efforts to launch a program of chemical and biological weapons, code-named al Zabadi, Arabic for curdled milk. As part of the plan to develop a “home-brew nerve gas,” members were given a long reading list that included a study titled “Current Concepts: Napalm.”

A video file in which Osama bin Laden speaks for 23 minutes, focusing on what he calls America’s anti-Muslim crusade and mentioning the Sept. 11 attacks. Another video shows a top al-Qaida cleric and spokesman, Sheikh Abu Gaith, appearing to acknowledge al-Qaida responsibility for the strikes. “God Almighty has enabled our brothers to carry out these strikes,” he says, “and make the enemies of God taste what they made our brothers taste.”

A letter in which a militant using the name Abu Yaser stresses that “hitting the Americans and Jews is a target of great value and has its rewards in this life and, God willing, the afterlife.” The letter is addressed to top al-Qaida lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahri and the author says he has written to bin Laden separately.

A memo referring to a “legal study” on “the killing of civilians.” The writer, acknowledging this is “a sensitive issue,” says he has found ways to keep “the enemy” from using the killing of “civilians, specifically women and children,” to undermine the militants’ cause.

How a computer apparently stuffed with al-Qaida secrets came to light involves a combination of happenstance and the opportunism of war in a country schooled for 20 years in conflict and chaos. The desktop was installed in a two-story brick building in Kabul that was used by al-Qaida as an office, according to a looter who says he grabbed it and a Compaq laptop from the office. He says he entered the building, which is now occupied by Northern Alliance soldiers, after a November U.S. bombing raid killed several senior al-Qaida officials in a nearby property.

As surviving al-Qaida operatives fled Kabul ahead of the city’s fall, the looter offered the computers for sale to a local computer merchant. A Wall Street Journal reporter acquired them for $1,100, copying hundreds of files and getting some of them translated from the Arabic. U.S. officials confirm the authenticity of the files, most protected by passwords, and say they provide a trove of information about the inner workings of the secretive organization.

Frequent users of the computer, who left their names or aliases on dozens of files, appear to include two top lieutenants of bin Laden: Zawahri and Mohammed Atef. Zawahri is a former Cairo surgeon who merged his own Egyptian terror outfit with al-Qaida in 1998, and is widely regarded as bin Laden’s chief strategist. Atef, killed in a November bombing raid near Kabul, headed al-Qaida’s military wing. U.S. officials believe he masterminded the lethal 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

It is unclear whether bin Laden used the computer, though several texts stored on the hard drive make elliptical references to the Saudi exile, referring to “Abu Abdullah” and other bin Laden aliases.

Users of the computer evidently didn’t make much use of e-mail. Afghan phone connections are poor and satellite links easily monitored. Instead, it appears they composed correspondence on the computer, then either copied it to a diskette or made a print-out to be delivered by hand. Notes in the computer frequently lament hitches in delivery of correspondence. The hard drive contains messages to or from activists in Western Europe and Asia, Albania, Yemen, Egypt and other outposts of the network.

Identifying the authors of texts stored on the computer is often difficult. Most use code names or aliases. There are frequent references, for example, to “Abdel Moez” or “Nur al-Din” — names U.S. authorities list as among aliases for Zawahri. “Salah al-din,” another name that appears frequently on the files, also appears to be an alias for Zawahri.

A series of files stored in a folder labeled “Hafs” appears to contain documents of Atef, who, according to a U.S. indictment relating to the embassy bombings, used “Abu Hafs” as his primary alias.

Sometimes, real names appear. The computer was used to compose a sign for an office, reading “This is a work place! For those who do not work here, please do not enter at all. Dr. Ayman.”

Many of the documents stored on the computer focus on housekeeping matters, particularly funding and personnel problems. Complaints about money and unpaid salaries turn up frequently. “I am almost broke,” wrote one operative. “The money I have may not last until the feast. Please send money or bring it to us as soon as possible.” Another pinched activist was told to find a house for just $30 a month.

Other files offer practical if chilling advice. A bomb-making guide provides tips on the use of dishwasher timers, alarm clocks and digital watches. There is also a table giving recommended lethal doses for various poisons: how much it takes to kill people of different body weights.

The computer files also show al-Qaida leaders celebrating. A homemade video file made after Sept. 11 features television footage of terrified Americans fleeing the flaming World Trade Center, overlain with a soundtrack of mocking chants and prayer in Arabic.

And, after the East Africa embassy bombings in 1998, a congratulatory message to Zawahri praised “what you did and all the works and the labors that you did to plague the enemy of God.” The message, stored in the computer as a Microsoft Word document, is signed “Abu Yaser.”

The bombings killed at least 224 people, mostly local Africans rather than Americans, and injured more than 5,000. Apparently emboldened by the death toll, the writer of the message advised: “We should not look for the easier targets, but we should look for the more strategic places, the targets which will harm the enemy and exact revenge upon them.”

Soon after the African bombings, the computer files show al-Qaida embarking on potentially its most deadly project: the “curdled milk” biological- and chemical-warfare program. A memo written in April 1999, apparently by Zawahri, notes that “the destructive power of these weapons is no less than that of nuclear weapons.”

The memo laments al-Qaida’s sluggishness in realizing the menace of these weapons, noting that “despite their extreme danger, we only became aware of them when the enemy drew our attention to them by repeatedly expressing concern that they can be produced simply.”

As a first step, the memo suggests, militants must brush up on their reading. The memo gives a detailed precis of an American history of chemical and germ warfare. It lists a catalog of exotic killers, from anthrax to Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

A May 7, 1999, file indicates that by that time, al-Qaida leaders had earmarked $2,000 to $4,000 for “start-up” costs of the program. In a letter dated May 23 and written under one of Zawahri’s aliases, the author reports discussing some “very useful ideas” during a visit to Abu Khabab, the alias of an elderly Egyptian scientist. “It just needs some experiments to develop its practical use.”

Particularly encouraging, the letter in the computer files said, was a home-brew nerve gas made from insecticides and a chemical additive that would help speed up penetration into the skin. The writer said Khabab had supplied a computer disk that gave details of “his product” in a WinZip file, and “my neighbor opened it by God’s will.”

U.S. officials, citing satellite photos and intelligence gathered from local residents, say Abu Khabab experimented with nerve gas on dogs and rabbits at a camp near the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. The camp, one of several in the area hit by U.S. bombs after Sept. 11, was known as Abu Khabab in honor of the scientist.

In a letter dated May 26 and stored in the computer under the same alias as earlier correspondence, the author says he was “very enthusiastic” about the Zabadi project and was especially pleased with Abu Khabab’s “significant progress.”

It isn’t clear how far al-Qaida got in making nerve gas. A June 1999 memo found on the hard drive and addressed to “Abu Hafs” — Atef’s alias — gave instructions for building a laboratory, ordering that walls be covered with oil paint and floors with tiles or cement “to facilitate cleaning with insecticides.” But, noted the memo, “construction should not start until electricity is installed.” It also called for evasive action to avoid detection: “Periodically (for example about every three months) one of the locations is to be canceled and replaced by another.”

A progress report complained that the use of nonspecialists had “resulted in a waste of effort and money,” urging the recruitment of experts as the “fastest, safest and cheapest” route. A June 1999 memo said the program should seek cover and talent in educational institutions, which it said were “more beneficial to us and allow easy access to specialists, which will greatly benefit us in the first stage, God willing.”

The computer files show leaders in Kabul trying to keep a tight leash on militants abroad. “The general management shall be consulted on issues related to joining and firing from the company, the general strategy and the company name,” intoned a lengthy report on the wayward ways of an al-Qaida cell in Yemen. A member of the cell, the report complained, had been overheard talking “in an unsuitable way” with a woman on the telephone and had then tried to dodge questions about the relationship by “pretending to be busy reading the Quran.”

An activist code-named “Abbas,” apparently under a cloud for talking too much and other infractions, sent groveling messages from an unidentified outpost promising to stick to “orders issued by the management” and “refrain from giving any interviews to the press or the radio ... without consulting with you and taking your permission.”

In a stern note warning against lax security, a message bearing what appears to be Zawahri’s code name ordered someone called “Hamza” to stop “writing my name on messages as he did” and start using two envelopes. “Place my name on the inner envelope,” he instructed.

Islamic militants in Egypt, meanwhile, were grilled over their 1998 decision to declare a truce with the government in Cairo and give up violence. Several files on the computer focus on this quarrel over strategy. “Noble brother, I hesitated in writing this letter when it was announced that you had called for a stop to all military operations,” reads a letter from Zawahri to a leader of Egypt’s Islamic Group. “Does that position apply to inciting people to perform jihad against Americans? And does it apply to Israel as well?”

Another headache was al-Qaida’s relationship with the Taliban. A July 1998 report stored in the computer details what seems to have been a near rupture in relations between Afghanistan’s then leaders and bin Laden’s network. Addressed to Ayman — apparently Zawahri — the report describes an angry meeting between the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, and “Abu Abdullah.” This could be a reference to bin Laden, since that was one of his aliases. The report blames the quarrel on a “bankrupt failure to achieve any real external victory.” It warns that Arabs operating in Afghanistan risk losing access to their training camps, just as they were earlier expelled from Sudan, bin Laden’s main base until 1996.

Discontent sometimes nearly bubbled over into mutiny. The unnamed author of a June 1998 memorandum outlined a catalog of 21 gripes presented to “the doctor.” They suggest an organization swamped by feuds and petty back-biting: Why has Yunis been put in charge of the archives? Why did a hard drive with “important documents relating to the company” get lost in Sudan? How much money was spent on a trip to Malaysia? What was the point of a visit to Chechnya?

In a final burst of disgust, the author questioned “management methods that have led to the departure of some brothers from the company and nearly led to the temptation of others.”

A more mundane concern, fund raising, evidently prompted a project to which Atef, the al-Qaida military chief, lent his name free of aliases. Its goal: to cash in on bin Laden’s notoriety. In October 1998, shortly after U.S. cruise missiles slammed into an al-Qaida training camp in retaliation for the Africa embassy bombings, the Kabul computer was used to create letterhead for a fictional company, Challenge for Media Services, and to draft letters to ABC, CNN and CBS. Each was signed Dr. Mohammed Atef and offered a business deal: cash for film of bin Laden and his bomb-destroyed training camp at Khost in eastern Afghanistan.

The letters promised the networks footage in which bin Laden “openly threatened U.S. and Israeli troops” and urged the networks to send representatives to Kabul or Jalalabad, to ensure “priority in getting the material and easiness in negotiation.” But the letters don’t appear to have been sent. They were left in a folder marked “not sent” on the computer’s hard drive. ABC, CBS and CNN say they never received any letters nor bought any videos from Atef.

More sinister was the missive drafted early this summer to Massoud, who was the leader of the Taliban’s only significant opposition in Afghanistan. “We ... are at your service in the hope that our collaboration will be long and fruitful,” read the letter, written in clumsy French in the name of an obscure, London-based Islamic information agency. It outlined what it said were plans for television reportage on Afghanistan. The interview request carried the name of Yasser Al-Siri, director of the Islamic Observation Center in London. Al-Siri was arrested in London in October and last month charged with conspiring to murder Massoud. He has denied any involvement in the assassination.

Though written under Al-Siri’s name, the letter, according to the Kabul computer’s internal properties, which give the user’s name in Arabic, was crafted by Mohammed Zawahri. It is unclear whether this refers to Zawahri, who is known to speak French and sometimes goes by the alias “Abu Mohammed,” or possibly to his brother, Mohammed Zawahiri, a fellow Islamic militant who helped set up a terror cell in Albania in the 1990s.

The two men who posed as journalists to interview Massoud Sept. 9, both French-speaking Arabs, carried stolen Belgian passports. One died immediately after setting off a hidden explosive. The other, wounded, was shot dead by guards. Witnesses say they detonated the bomb moments after asking Massoud one of the questions from a list proposed in a French-language document contained in the Kabul computer: “How will you deal with the Osama bin Laden issue when you are in power and what do you see as the solution to this issue?”

Mujahid Usamah Bin Ladin Talks Exclusively to "NIDA'UL ISLAM" About 'The New Powder Keg in The Middle East' * What is the policy that should be adopted by the Islamic movement towards the scholars who defend -intentionally or unintentio-nally- the likes of the Saud regime?

It is not a concealed fact that the police states in the Arab world rely on some foundations in order to protect themselves.. Amongst these organisations is the security organisation as they spend generously on it, and its foremost mission is to spy on its own people in order to protect the person of the ruler, even if this was at the expense of the rights of the people and their security, as also the military sector, which is prepared to strike the people if they wish to reject the suppression and to remove oppression and establish truth.

The media sector is in the same category as it strives to beatify the persons of the leaders, to drowse the community, and to fulfil the plans of the enemies through keeping the people occupied with the minor matters, and to stir their emotions and desires until corruption becomes widespread amongst the believers.

There is also another organisation which takes priority with the leaders in the Arab world, and is used to take the people astray, and to open the door wide for the security factions to fulfil their aforementioned objectives.. This is the organisation of the scholars of the authorities, as the role of this organisation is the most dangerous of roles in the entirety of the Arabic countries.

History is the best witness to this.

At the same time that some of the leaders are engaging in the major Kufr, which takes them out of the fold of Islam in broad daylight and in front of all the people, you would find a Fatwa from their religious organisation.. In particular, the role of the religious organisation in the country of the two sacred mosques is of the most ominous of roles, this is overlooking whether it fulfilled this role intentionally or unintentionally, the harm which eventuated from their efforts is no different from the role of the most ardent enemies of the nation.

The regime in the land of the two sacred mosques has given a very high priority to this organisation, and has been able to enlarge its position in the estimation of the people until it made of it an idol to be worshipped aside from God amongst some of the common people, and without the will of the members of this organisation.

However, there continues to be in the land of the two sacred mosques - with gratitude to Allah - a good number of honest scholars and students who work according to their teachings, and those who have taken visible and daring stances against the Kufr activities which the regime is working.

The regime has strived to keep these scholars in the shadows and then removed them, one way or another, from being effective elements in the lives of the people in the community. At the forefront of these scholars was the Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamid - May Allah bless his soul - who was the Mufti in the Arabian peninsula, and who headed the supreme council of judges. However, the regime constrained him and tightened their grip on him until he offered his resignation.. He has many famous writings in response to the unacceptable laws which the government had introduced instead of the Law of Allah, one of these is a treatise dealing with the law of work and workers which deals with many of the introduced laws which contradict the law of Allah (s.w.t.).

At the same time, they promoted some of the scholars who were far below Sheikh Ibn Hamid - may Allah bless his soul - those who have been known to be weak and soft, so they put them forward in a cunning plan which began more than twenty years ago.. During the preceding two decades, the regime enlarged the role of Bin Baz (Grand Mufti) because of what it knows of his weakness and flexibility and the ease of influencing him with the various means which the interior ministry practices through providing him with false information. So, a generation of youth were raised believing that the most pious and knowledgeable of people is Bin Baz as a result of the media promotion through a well studied policy which had been progressed over twenty years.

After this, the government began to strike with the cane of Bin Baz, every corrective programme which the honest scholars put forward, further, it extracted a Fatwa to hand over Palestine to the Jews, and before this, to permit entry into the country of the two sacred mosques to the modern day crusaders under the rule of necessity, then it relied on a letter from him to the minister for internal affairs and placed the honest scholars in the gaols.

The confidence of the people and the youth in Bin Baz was therefore shaken, however the price was very high, whilst the confidence of the people in the working scholars, particularly those in the prisons had been increased.

The policy of the Organisation for Advice and Rectification towards these scholars is the continuation of providing advise to them openly and secretly (as there is no person above the law, and we are not immune) and particularly in the matters where they gave public rulings, and to bring the rulings of the scholars who respond to their rulings, in order to bring awareness to the people as to the correct ruling with respect to these matters, and not to forestall the rectification programme so that the scholars are made aware, as the pressure which is applied against them is very great.

Also the promotion of the honest scholars and their mention with what they deserve in front of the people so that the confidence of the people would greatly shift in support to them.

* How do you evaluate the Saud regime's foreign policy towards the Muslim world in the past years?

The external policy of the Saud regime towards Islamic issues is a policy which is tied to the British outlook from the establishment of Saudi Arabia until 1364 ah (1945 ac), then it became attached to the American outlook after America gained prominence as a major power in the world after the Second World War.

It is well known that the policies of these two countries bear the greatest enmity towards the Islamic world.

To be taken out of this category is the final phase of the rule of King Faisal, as there was a clear interest with the Muslim issues, in particular al Quds and Palestine.

However, the regime does not cease to cry in the open over the matters effecting the Muslims without making any serious effort to serve the interests of the Muslim community apart from small efforts in order to confuse people and throw some dust into their eyes.

* The confrontation between the Islamic movement and the apostate Saud regime recorded a historical turning point following the latest attacks against the American occupiers targets. How did these attacks reflect on the internal front, and how did they affect the Saudi-American relations?

There were important effects to the two explosions in Riyadh on both the internal and external aspects. Most important amongst these is the awareness of the people to the significance of the American occupation of the country of the two sacred mosques, and that the original decrees of the regime are a reflection of the wishes of the American occupiers. So the people became aware that their main problems were caused by the American occupiers and their puppets in the Saudi regime, whether this was from the religious aspect or from other aspects in their everyday lives. The sympathies of the people with the working scholars who had been imprisoned also increased as has their understanding of their advises and guidance which led the people to support the general rectification movement which is led by the scholars and the callers to Islam. This movement - with the bounty of Allah - is increasing in power and in supporters day after day at the expense of the regime. The sympathy with these missions at the civil and military levels were great, as also the sympathies of the Muslim world with the struggle against the Americans.

As for the relationship between the regime and the American occupiers, these operations have embarrassed both sides and have led to the exchange of accusations between them. So we have the Americans stating that the causes of the explosions are the bad policies of the regime and the corruption of members of the ruling family, and the regime is accusing the Americans of exceeding their authority by taking advantage of the regime and forcing it to enter into military and civil contracts which are beyond its means, which led to great economic slide which has effected the people. In addition to this is the behaviour of the Americans with crudeness and arrogance with the Saudi army and their general behaviour with citizens, and the privileges which the Americans enjoy in distinction from the Saudi forces.

These missions also paved the way for the raising of the voices of opposition against the American occupation from within the ruling family and the armed forces; in fact we can say that the remaining Gulf countries have been effected to the same degree, and that the voices of opposition to the American occupation have begun to be heard at the level of the ruling families and the governments of the Cooperative Council of Gulf countries. The differences in outlooks between the Americans and the Gulf states has appeared for the first time since the second Gulf war. This was during the conference of the ministers of external affairs of the countries of the cooperative council of Gulf states which was held in Riyadh to look into the American missile aggression against Iraq. These differences are nothing more than a sign of the strain which has eventuated in the relationship between America and the countries of the region in the footsteps of the Jihad missions against the Americans in Riyadh and as a result of the fear of these regimes that their own lands might witness similar Jihad missions.

* It was observed that the American and Saudi officials tried to link the latest operations to some foreign countries. What is behind these attempts?

A result of the increasing reaction of the people against the American occupation and the great sympathy with the Jihad missions against the Americans is the eagerness of the Americans and the Saudis to propagate false information to disperse these sympathies. This can be witnessed in their statements that some of the countries in the region were behind the Jihad missions inside the country of the two sacred mosques, however the people are aware that this is an internal Islamic movement against the American occupation which is revealing itself in the most clear picture after the killing of the four champions who performed the Riyadh operation, the ones concerning whom, we ask Allah to accept amongst the martyrs.

It has become routine policy for countries upon facing an internal calamity is to lay the responsibility on an external country. Before the puppetry of the Arabic countries to America became plainly obvious, the security sections never hesitated to accuse any rectifying Islamic movement to be a puppet to America and Israel.

* What are the regime's choices with regards to the Muslim uprising, and what are your expectations for the future?

There are several choices for the regime, one of these is reconciliation with all the different sections of the public, by releasing the scholars, and offering essential changes, the most important of these is to bring back Islamic law, and to practise real Shura (consultative government). The regime may resort to this choice after finding itself in the position of a morsel of food for the Americans to take, after the enmity has been stirred with their people. These people today feel that the Americans have exceeded their limits both politically and economically, the regime now knows that the public are aware that their sovereignty is shared. This was particularly evident in the recent period through the American press statements which give justification to the American occupation which only exists to rob the wealth of the people to the benefit of the Americans. This option is dependent on the agreement of the people who hold the solution and have the ability to effect change, at the forefront of these would be the honest scholars.

As for the other option, this is a very difficult and dangerous one for the regime, and this involves an escalation in the confrontation between the Muslim people and the American occupiers and to confront the economic haemorrhage. Its most important goal would be to change the current regime, with the permission of Allah.

* As a part of the furious international campaign against the Jihad movement, you were personally the target of a prejudiced attack, which accused you of financing terrorism and being part of an international terrorist organisation. What do you have to say about that?

After the end of the cold war, America escalated its campaign against the Muslim world in its entirety, aiming to get rid of Islam itself. Its main focus in this was to target the scholars and the reformers who were enlightening the people to the dangers of the Judao - American alliance, and they also targeted the Mujahideen. We also have been hit with some of the traces of this campaign as we were accused of funding terrorism, and being members of an international terrorist organisation. Their aims in making these allegations were to place psychological pressure on the Mujahideen and their supporters so that they would forsake the obligation of Jihad and the resistance of oppression and American Israeli occupation of Islamic sacred lands. However, our gratitude to Allah, their campaign was not successful, as terrorising the American occupiers is a religious and logical obligation. We are grateful to Allah Most Exalted in that He has facilitated Jihad in His cause for us, against the Americo - Israeli attacks on the Islamic sanctities.

As for their accusations of terrorising the innocent, the children, and the women, these are in the category "accusing others with their own affliction in order to fool the masses". The evidence overwhelmingly shows America and Israel killing the weaker men, women, and children in the Muslim world and elsewhere. A few examples of this are seen in the recent Qana massacre in Lebanon, and the death of more than six hundred thousands (600,000) Iraqi children because of the shortage of food and medicine which resulted from the boycotts and sanctions against the Muslim Iraqi people, also their withholding of arms from the Muslims of Bosnian Hercegovina leaving them prey to the Christian Serbians who massacred and raped in a manner not seen in contemporary history. Not to forget the dropping of the H bombs on cities with their entire populations of children, elderly, and women, on purpose, and in a premeditated manner as was the case with Hiroshima and Nakazagki. Then, killing hundreds of thousands of children in Iraq, and whose numbers (of dead) continue to increase as a result of the sanctions. Despite the continuing American occupation of the country of the two sacred mosques, America continues to claim that it is upholding the banner of freedom and humanity, whilst these deeds which they did, you would find that the most ravenous of animals would not descend to.

As for what America accuses us of, of killing the innocent people, they have not been able to offer any evidence, despite the magnitude of their expenditure on their intelligence services. Despite what our history is witnessing in the Afghan phase of the Jihad. This was also unstained with any blood of innocent people, despite the inhuman Russian campaign against our women, our children, and our brothers in Afghanistan... Similar is our history with respect to our differences with the Saudi regime, all that has been proved is our joy at the killing of the American Soldiers in Riyadh and Khobar, and these are the sentiments of every Muslim. Our encouragement and call to Muslims to enter Jihad against the American and the Israeli occupiers are actions which we are engaging in as religious obligations. Allah Most High has commanded us in many verses of the Qur`an to fight in His path and to urge the believers to do so. Of these are His words: "Fight in the path of Allah, you are not charged with the responsibility except for yourself, and urge the believers, lest Allah restrain the might of the rejectors, and Allah is stronger in might and stronger in inflicting punishment." and His words: "And what is it with you that you do not fight in the path of Allah, whilst the weak amongst the men, and the women, and the children who say: our Lord take us out of this town the people of which are oppressive, and make for us from You a protecting friend and make for us from You a succourer", and His words: "So if you meet those who reject, then strike the necks..." We have given an oath to Allah to continue in the struggle as long as we have blood pumping in our veins or a seeing eye, and we beg of Allah to accept and to grant a good ending for us and for all the Muslims.

* Some media sources mentioned that the Afghan government demanded that you leave the country. How true is this?

The Afghan government has not asked us to leave the country... All gratitude to Allah, our relationship with our brother Mujahideen in Afghanistan is a deep and broad relationship where blood and sweat have mixed as have the links over long years of struggle against the Soviets, it is not a passing relationship, nor one based on personal interests.

They are committed to support the religion approved by Allah, and that country remains as the Muslims have known it, a strong fort for Islam, and its people are amongst the most protective of the religion approved by Allah, and the keenest to fulfil His laws and to establish an Islamic state.

That passing phase of infighting has saddened us as it has saddened all the Muslims, however, we wish to indicate that the picture of events as painted by the international press is grossly distorted, and that this infighting is much smaller and less fierce than what Muslims on the outside may imagine, and that most of the country is living a normal peaceful life; apart from some petty crimes here and there as some elements attempt to create corruption under cover of the disputes amongst some of the groups. We our hoping that Afghanistan would regain very soon - God willing - its Islamic position which would befit its history of Jihad.

* What is the responsibility of the Muslim populations towards the international campaign against Islam?

What bears no doubt in this fierce Judao - Christian campaign against the Muslim world, the likes of which has never been seen before, is that the Muslims must prepare all the possible might to repel the enemy on the military, economic, missionary, and all other areas. It is crucial for us to be patient and to cooperate in righteousness and piety and to raise awareness to the fact that the highest priority, after faith is to repel the incursive enemy which corrupts the religion and the world, and nothing deserves a higher priority after faith, as the scholars have declared, for this cause, it is crucial to overlook many of the issues of bickering in order to unite our ranks so that we can repel the greater Kufr.

All must move giving life to the words of the Most High: "Indeed this, your community, is one community, and I am your Lord, so worship me" and that they should not be like those whom Allah has described with His words: "Indeed those who have divided their religion and became schisms, you are not of them in any way." It is essential to volunteer and not to bicker, and the Muslim should not belittle righteousness in any way, the messenger ( peace and blessings upon him) said: "Whoever believes in Allah and the last day must speak good or not speak at all." and they must heed the words of the messenger (peace and blessings upon him) when they move: "Inform and do not repel, and make it easy and do not make it difficult.".. And we ask Allah to give this community the guidance to exalt the people who obey Him and humiliate those who disobey Him, and to give us a rule where decency is commanded and evil is forbidden. O Allah bless Mohammad, Your servant and messenger, and his family, and companions, and give them peace... All gratitude to Allah the Lord of the worlds.

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