Video Shows Al-Qaeda Leaders Addressing Dozens of Militants

2014-04-25 37

Different media reports on a supposed meeting of scores of Al-Qaeda leaders, which was filmed and posted on YouTube.

"A new video shows what looks like the largest and most dangerous gathering of al Qaeda in years. And the CIA and the Pentagon either didn't know about it or couldn't get a drone there in time to strike.
U.S. officials won't comment on that, but every frame of the video is now being analyzed by the United States.

In the middle of the clip, the man known as al Qaeda's crown prince, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, appears brazenly out in the open, greeting followers in Yemen. Al-Wuhayshi, the No. 2 leader of al Qaeda globally and the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has said he wants to attack the United States. But in the video, he looks unconcerned that he could be hit by an American drone.

The video started appearing on jihadist websites recently, drawing the attention of U.S. officials and global terrorism experts. U.S. officials say they believe it's authentic.
Abdulrazzaq al-Jamal, a journalist who has interviewed members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), said it was the largest known gathering of al Qaeda in Yemen. "It included about 400 people, and these are not all the members of the group.