Reported dead last November, al-Qaeda top dog al-Zawahiri issues new video

Zawahiri was reported dead last November, but as I noted at the time, people such as al-Zawahiri tend to die more than once. Take, for example, the Islamic State’s caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He was reported seriously injured or dead several times before he was actually killed in 2019:

Islamic State’s caliph al-Baghdadi said to be severely injured, flees to Syria July 5, 2014

Several months later, after widespread reports that he had been killed in an airstrike: Islamic State caliph undead, calls for “volcanoes of jihad” November 13, 2014

Islamic State’s caliph Ibrahim, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, again reported seriously wounded April 21, 2015

Bin Laden protege reportedly leading Islamic State after injury to caliph al-Baghdadi that Pentagon denies happened April 23, 2015

UK’s Guardian: Islamic State’s caliph still alive, but paralyzed from spinal injury in airstrike Pentagon denies hit him April 27, 2015

Radio Iran: Islamic State’s caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead of injuries from airstrike Pentagon denies hit him April 27, 2015

Is the Islamic State’s caliph al-Baghdadi dead (again)? June 17, 2016

Also, Osama bin Laden was widely thought to be dead when he made no public statements for a couple of years; then he resurfaced.

From a practical standpoint, it hardly matters whether or not al-Zawahiri is dead. Al-Qaeda is not based around the charismatic leadership of a single figure, but around an ideology that no one wants to admit exists, and it will continue.

“Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri appears in new video on 20th anniversary of 9/11 – despite rumors bin Laden’s No. 2 died in Afghanistan in November,” by Ariel Zilber, DailyMail.com, September 12, 2021:

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri appeared in a new video marking the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, months after rumors spread that he was dead.

The SITE Intelligence Group that monitors jihadist websites said the video was released Saturday.

In it, al-Zawahiri said that ‘Jerusalem Will Never be Judaized,’ and praised Al-Qaeda attacks including one that targeted Russian troops in Syria in January.

SITE said al-Zawahiri also noted the United States military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.

It added that his comments do not necessarily indicate a recent recording, as the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban was signed in February 2020.

Al-Zawahiri made no mention of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and the capital Kabul last month, SITE added.

But he did mention a January 1, attack that targeted Russian troops on the edge of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa.

Rumors have spread since late 2020 that al-Zawahiri had died from illness. Since then, no video or proof of life surfaced, until Saturday.

‘He could still be dead, though if so, it would have been at some point in or after Jan 2021,’ tweeted Rita Katz, SITE’s director.

Al-Zawahiri’s speech was recorded in a 61-minute, 37-second video produced by the group’s as-Sahab Media Foundation….