Al Qaida Escapee Urges Somali 'Holy War'

Source: Associated Press

al-Qaida Escapee Urges Somali 'Holy War'

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 25, 2007
Filed at 10:06 p.m. ET

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- In a new video posted Sunday on the Internet, an al-Qaida militant who escaped from a U.S. prison in Afghanistan called on militants in Somalia to fight a gangland-style holy war against government troops.

It was the second video released this week by Abu Yahia al-Libi, who broke out of the U.S. prison at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul in 2005. Earlier this week, he urged all Sunni militants in Iraq to unite under his umbrella and declared an ongoing U.S.-led security operation in Baghdad a failure.

''My patient brother Mujahideen in Somalia ... you have to stick to the gang wars, because it is the longest of battles and ... most suitable for small numbers and vulnerable fighters,'' al-Libi said. ''Slam them with one raid after another, set ambushes against them, and shake their soil with land mines and shake their bases with suicide attacks and car bombs,'' he added. ''The goal of your fight and the purpose of your jihad is the expulsion of the occupier and his helpers and the establishment of an Islamic state in the land of Somalia.''

Earlier this year, Ethiopian-backed Somali government forces drove the militants from the capital of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia, ending their six months in power.

MORE

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Al-Qaida-Video.html