In a First, Terror Group Invites Journalists To Interview Its No. 2 Leader

CAIRO, Egypt — Al Qaeda has invited journalists to send questions to its no. 2 figure, Ayman al-Zawahri, in the first such offer by the increasingly press-savvy terror network to “interview” one of its leaders since the September 11, 2001, attacks.The invitation is a new twist in Al Qaeda’s campaign to reach a broader audience, and represents an attempt by Mr. Zawahri to present himself as a sophisticated leader rather than a mass murderer.“I think their media capability is sophisticated as ever,” a terrorism expert and professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Bruce Hoffman, said. “It shows how this group with 7th century ideology is exploiting 21st century media capabilities.”The advertisement, issued by the group’s press arm Al-Sahab on an Islamic militant Web site, invites “individuals, agencies, and all media” to submit written questions for Mr. Zawahri by sending them to the Web forums where Al-Sahab traditionally posts its messages.Al-Sahab asked the forums to send it the questions “with no changes or substitutions, no matter whether they agree or disagree [with the question].”It said it would take questions until January 16, after which Mr. Zawahri would answer them “as much as he is able and at the soonest possible occasion.” It did not say whether his answers would come in writing, video, or audiotape.The authenticity of the invitation, first posted Sunday, could not be independently confirmed. But it was posted with the logo of Al-Sahab and the style of graphics and calligraphy it traditionally uses, along with a photo of Mr. Zawahri.The advertisement appeared on several Web sites that Al-Sahab officially uses for issuing messages.Osama bin Laden and Mr. Zawahri have given a few interviews to Western and Arabic press since they first rose to prominence in the 1990s. But neither has been interviewed since the September 11 attacks and the subsequent American invasion of Afghanistan, which toppled Al Qaeda’s patrons the Taliban and sent Al Qaeda’s leaders into hiding.They are believed to be in the lawless regions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.Since then, Mr., Zawahri has emerged as Al Qaeda’s most prominent spokesman. He has appeared in at least 16 videos and audiotapes this year, compared to four for Mr. bin Laden.As a whole, the terror network’s messaging has dramatically increased this year, with Al-Sahab issuing more than 90 videos in 2007, more than the total number for all three previous years, according to IntelCenter, an American counterterrorism center that monitors militant message traffic.In the most recent, issued Tuesday, Abu Laith al-Libi, a Libyan Qaeda commander in Afghanistan who also releases frequent messages, lectured on the duty of Muslims to join the battle against the “devil.”The videos have grown more sophisticated in targeting their international audience.Videos are always subtitled in English, and messages this year from Messrs. bin Laden and Zawahri focusing on Pakistan and Afghanistan have been dubbed in the local languages, Urdu, and Pashtu.

In a First, Terror Group Invites Journalists To Interview Its No. 2 Leader

In a First, Terror Group Invites Journalists To Interview Its No. 2 Leader

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