Al Qaeda statement on bin Laden’s death —
The statement, which congratulates the “Islamic Nation on the martyrdom of their devoted son Osama,” repeated themes and threats made over the years in al Qaeda statements, before and after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
“The blood of the mujahed sheikh, Osama bin Laden, may God have mercy on him, is very dear to us and more precious to us and to every Muslim from being shed in vain,” the statement said. A mujahed is defined as a Muslim engaged in what he considers to be jihad.
Al Qaeda frequently cites the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in its pronouncements, and it did so again, saying America “will neither enjoy nor live in security until our people in Palestine live it and enjoy it.”
“The soldiers of Islam in groups and as individuals will continue to plan and plot without any fatigue, boredom, despair, surrender or indifference until you receive from them a cunning misfortune that will gray the hair of the child even before he gets old,” the statement said.
Pakistanis were urged to revolt and “rise up,” cleansing the “disgrace that was brought upon them by a handful of traitors and thieves” and “their country from the filth of the Americans who have wreaked havoc in the land.”
The statement surfaced as protesters packed the streets of Abbottabad — where bin Laden was shot and killed — in a rally organized by Jamrat-E-Islami, Pakistan’s largest Islamist party. The demonstrators denounced the U.S. and Pakistani governments.