BIN LADEN: CRUSH WEST SCUM

Call to arms ... Osama bin Laden
denounces US 'enemy' on TV

By SARA NATHAN

TERROR chief Osama bin Laden has called on Muslims to wage war against the "scum" of the West, it was revealed last night.

Bin Laden made the chilling demand in a rare TV interview from his mountain lair in Afghanistan.

The fanatic smirked as he spoke of his "joy and delight" at the 1998 US embassy bombings that killed 224 people. He launched a hate-filled tirade against America and its allies.

Bin Laden called for a Jihad, or holy war, to drive Americans out of Islamic lands. He said: "We cannot leave the house of God to these malicious Jews and Christians.

"Every US man is an enemy. We demand the liberation of our land from Americans. We call on the sons of the Muslim Nation to pursue Jihad and inflict pain on America and its allies.

"We are duty-bound to protect the nation against the US, Israel and their allies, and to resist this occupation."

Bin Laden, No1 suspect for the New York and Washington atrocities, was captured on camera in 1998 by Arabic satellite channel Al Jazera, based in the Gulf country of Qatar.

He predicted a miltary strike against Afghanistan, whose brutal Taliban rulers have sheltered the exiled Saudi millionaire. Bin Laden said: "We have chosen the road for ourselves, and we are not interested by America's missiles.

"We warn them that any strikes against Afghanistan will be seen as a strike against the State of Islam."

Hate-filled ... terror chief wants a
'holy war' against the West

He smiled as he admitted he "incited" attacks on US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya: "The bombing was a grace from the Almighty, bringing delight to the Muslim world."

Bin Laden praised the bombers, and those who attacked the World Trade Center in 1993. He said: "May Allah accept these young men as martyrs in his cause.

"I view with a high degree of pride these great men who lifted the humiliation that had befallen our nation."

But when quizzed about America's claim that he spearheaded the attacks, bin Laden said: "Its allegations are void, unless it meant the association in their incitement. I admit any day that I was the one who endorsed an edict to protect the Muslim nation." He added: "Ever since I was a boy I felt hatred towards the Americans and felt that I was at war against them.

"Three-quarters of the US people support attacks on Iraq. The American President's ratings are high when he kills innocent civilians."

Of the US intervention in Kuwait, he said: "I'm sure that free Muslim women, let alone Muslim men, feel ashamed when such scum as the American army are called upon to defend them."

Bin Laden spoke of war between Muslims and "Zionist crusaders" led by the US and Israel, and called the United Nations an "infidel regime."

He added: "Our enemies move freely in our seas, land and air space, striking without consulting anyone.

"We should learn a lesson from our brothers in Palestine.

"They were known for their export-bound agriculture, citrus fruits and textiles. They later became destitutes and cheap labourers for Jews."

Smile masks a
heart of hate

Family pose ... Bin Laden with 22
of his brothers and sisters
Picture: CAMERA PRESS

THE smiling lad ringed in our picture looks like he doesn't have a care in the world as he poses with 22 of his brothers and sisters.

But the 14-year-old is Osama bin Laden - and within a few years the grinning schoolboy was on his way to becoming the world's most cold-hearted mass murderer. The bin Laden children lined up next to a pink Cadillac for this snapshot on a trip to Falun, Sweden, in 1971.

The holiday was paid for by their father Mohammed, a billionaire building tycoon. Osama inherited a fortune when his dad died soon afterwards - and used it to build a worldwide network of terror.

Clues that nail warlord

Straw ... dossier of evidence

By SIMON HUGHES

THE Sun today reveals vital clues that have convinced America and Britain that bin Laden was behind the murderous blitz on New York and Washington.

After the attack, a US spy satellite picked up two known associates of the terror warlord talking on mobile phones about "two targets being hit."

Then there is Nawaq Al-Hamzi, 25, a hijacker on the plane that hit the Pentagon.

He had been secretly videotaped by the CIA meeting an associate of bin Laden.

FBI agents further traced the plot to bin Laden by arresting Nabib Almarabh in Chicago.

He had been the target of a long-running probe into bin Laden's ties to the US.

Almarabh, Ahmed Al-ghamdi and Satam Al Suqmi, were suspected of channelling funds to bin Laden bank accounts.

And Al-ghamdi and Al Suqami were among the hijackers. All three had lived in Boston, scene of two hijackings, and where a bin Laden terror cell was thought to be based.

There is also evidence bin Laden made millions from dealing in shares he knew would be affected by the atrocities.

Powell ... 'US has the proof'

Top German banker Ernst Welteke said: "There were activities on the international financial markets that must have needed expert knowledge."

Some prices, like oil and gold, shot up after the hijacks.

Others, like airlines and insurance plunged - and huge profits were made.

Investors do deals to sell later below current prices, thus betting that prices will fall.

US-hating bin Laden was also linked to 1998 attacks on American embassies and is known to be the mastermind behind the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.