Coffin trade booms in US Al-Qaeda's military commander told journalist Bakr Attiani just eight weeks before the 9/11 attacks that he was going to attack the United States.
Saturday, September 11, 2021
The editor-in-chief of news world, Bakr Attiani, interviewed Osama bin Laden and his associates in Afghanistan just two months before 9/11. In this important interview, Osama's associates made important revelations about the attacks in the United States.
We talked to Booker about it and asked him for the details of this interview.
When and where did you meet Osama bin Laden, what did you talk to him about?
I interviewed Osama bin Laden about eight weeks before 9/11. I met him on June 21, 2001 in Kandahar and interviewed him. Obviously, he did not give this interview in front of the camera. He had agreed with the Taliban that he would not speak to the media, but when I was interviewing him, some of his comrades who were there at the time," he said. One of them was Abu Hafs al-Masri (also known as Muhammad Atif), who was al-Qaeda's military commander at the time.
We will have a big surprise in the next few weeks," Abu Hafs said. We will target American and Israeli targets. If I translate correctly, they meant that they would target American or Israeli installations. So I can say that the purpose of Al-Qaeda's invitation to me for an interview in June 2001 was to convey this message.
Was it a rumor or did you think al-Qaeda deliberately wanted to send a message to the world through you?
Of course, it was clear that he wanted to do as it was agreed before the interview that I would ask him some specific questions. One of them was the question of why he had declared his allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. If you recall that in April 2001, al-Qaeda announced that Osama bin Laden had pledged allegiance to Mullah Muhammad Omar, and shortly thereafter, the Ayman al-Zawahiri-led group Islamic Jihad joined al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. It became a group, and since then al-Qaeda's official name has been changed to al-Qaeda al-Jihad, meaning al-Qaeda from Osama bin Laden's group and al-Jihad from al-Zawahiri's Egyptian group. went.
So I agreed with Payambar, who arranged this interview, that the questions I would ask would include taking an oath of allegiance to Mullah Muhammad Omar and joining Islamic Jihad. So when I got there (Kandahar), he said that Osama said that he could not address the media directly but you can report the conversation that took place in this meeting. So that's what they wanted to convey to me. Abu Hafs al-Masri added that "the coffin trade in the United States is about to accelerate." So that was a clear message.
What came to your mind when you heard the word 'coffin business in America booming', did you think it was an empty threat or were they serious about putting it into practice?
I knew in that look that he had succeeded. I could tell by the language they used, and why I was called for this interview. It was a project as it took about three months to arrange this interview because I was in Islamabad, from there I went to Afghanistan. So I realized from this interview that this is a serious matter. It is also interesting to note that after meeting with me, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri immediately left the place.
After that, the car outside was waiting for me to leave back to Kandahar. I had no idea of the place because I couldn't see outside when they brought me here. This place may be somewhere in Kandahar but he kept driving me around in the car for three hours. However, Abu Hafs told me that he would call me back for an interview after the attacks. So from all that, I knew something was going to happen and they were planning an attack, but I didn't know when, where and how they would do it. "
When you came back and this interview aired, how did you react?
It was widely seen, both in Pakistan and internationally ... Along with the local newspapers, the international media also gave full coverage to it.
What was the first thought that came to your mind eight weeks later when you saw the towers of the World Trade Center burning?
"It simply came to our notice then. I thought it was the same attack that Osama bin Laden and his associates were talking about. Al-Qaeda was planning these attacks.
Did any security agency try to contact you after this interview to find out more?
'Yes, of course. Agencies and governments in many countries contacted me before and after the attacks. Before the attacks, they wanted to know how serious the threat was and to find out more about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, which of course I did not know. But all I knew was that the place was in or around Kandahar.
Even after the attack, I was contacted for more information because it was a huge attack. It was not one or two agencies but several intelligence agencies and governments that made contact. The Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of many countries also contacted me.
So did al-Qaeda try to contact you again after the 9/11 attacks, as they promised you another interview?
"Yes, it would be interesting to say that they called me in November 2001. This was the time when the United States had invaded Afghanistan and was about to occupy Kabul. The Americans were bombing Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad and other parts of the country.
Al-Qaeda invited me to Kabul for an interview, but I told them that traveling to Kabul was impossible at the moment. So he kept his promise of another interview but I could not go to Kabul.
Comments
Post a Comment