VARIOUS: LONDON-BASED MAGAZINE PUBLISHES A WILL ALELGEDLY WRITTEN BY OSAMA BIN LADEN THE WORLD'S MOST WANTED MAN

Record ID: 640575

  • Title: VARIOUS: LONDON-BASED MAGAZINE PUBLISHES A WILL ALELGEDLY WRITTEN BY OSAMA BIN LADEN THE WORLD'S MOST WANTED MAN
  • Date: 27th October 2002
  • Summary: (U6) LONDON, UK (OCTOBER 25, 2002) (REUTERS) SCU COVER OF AL MAJALA MAGAZINE WITH STORY OF OSAMA BIN LADEN'S WILL ON FRONT SCU HANI NAKSHABANDI, CHIEF EDITOR OF AL MAJALA MAGAZINE, READING ALLEGED WILL; SCU COVER OF THE MAGAZINE, SHOWING OSAMA BIN LADEN
  • Embargoed: 11th November 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Crime,General,Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA6IUMT29J7U4TRY7X2PDR2TY7Y
  • Story Text: A London-based magazine has said it was publishing a will written by Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, in which he complains of betrayal by fellow militants in Afghanistan.
    The Arabic-language al-Majallah said the will, typed and bearing a signature of bin Laden, was obtained a week ago from a "very reliable" source in Afghanistan.
    It said the will, typically packed with versus from the Muslim holy book the Koran, depicted a man who appeared desperate and on the verge of death.
    "Why I'm sure that it's really the will of Osama bin Laden is, the way he has written his will is the same character of Osama bin Laden and when you read the will you feel that you are listening to Osama bin Laden talking," the magazine's Editor-in-Chief Hani Nakshabandi said of the alleged will, which is due to be published on Saturday (October 26).
    There was no independent confirmation of the authenticity of the document.
    Nakshabandi said while wills are normally revealed after the death of their author, it was impossible to verify if bin Laden had actually died.
    The Saudi-born militant, Washington's prime suspect as mastermind for September 11, disappeared after U.S. troops launched its war on Afghanistan in October 2001. U.S. troops combing the mountains where he was believed to be hiding have failed to find him.
    Some television stations and Web sites close to his al Qaeda network have published letters attributed to him or messages in his voice, although the dates of these messages was not verified.
    "He was always afraid of someone, of certain people, of a group, of anyone. But there is always this one main concern of his security," says Nakshabandi of the tone in the will.
    "Number two - his children. He was quite as concerned about his children and their future when he just died. For that reason he asked them just to quit from al-Qaeda, not to work with al-Qaeda anymore. Number three, that even his friends, the people of al-Qaeda or the members of al-Qaeda not to stay in Afghanistan. To go back home again, to set up themselves again there. But, to get rid of the traitors first."
    The will repeatedly complains of betrayal by fellow militants, including the Taliban who shielded Osama bin Laden.
    "We saw the cowardly Crusaders (Christians) and the lowly Jews hold fast while fighting us, while soldiers of our nation raised the white flag and surrendered to their enemies," it says. "Even the students of religion (Taliban), only a handful of them were steadfast, while the rest fled before they met the enemy."
    It also asks for forgiveness from bin Laden's children, saying he had given them only a little of his time since he embarked on his path of jihad (holy war).
    Dated December 14, 2001 the will suggests it was written at the height of United States (U.S.) military strikes on Afghanistan in retaliation for the September 11 attacks, which ended in the ouster of bin Laden's Taliban protectors from Afghanistan.
    "I do believe when you read the will that you can link between that date and something happened to him. Maybe a week before he wrote the will. You can smell it, you can see it, you can feel it, that something happened to Osama bin Laden and because of that, he did write his will. After that, nobody knows anything about Osama bin Laden and there has been no fresh tape or record of Osama bin Laden [that] came up after this date," Nakshabandi said.
    Bin Laden described the New York and Washington attacks as "part of escalating strikes directed towards America" starting with a 1983 attack on a U.S. marine barracks in Lebanon and the 1998 bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
    The United States has blamed bin Laden for the twin attacks on its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. But it has accused Lebanon's Shi'ite Hizbollah group for the suicide attack on its barracks in Beirut in which 241 servicemen were killed.
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