CAIRO, Egypt – Al Qaeda’s media arm, al Sahab, announced last December that Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s ideological chief and second-in-command, would answer questions submitted by the public on various websites.  In a 103-minute video Zawahiri addressed issues ranging from Palestine, opportunities for female militants and Osama bin Laden’s health.  This video was billed as the first installment of Zawahiri’s responses to the over 900 questions submitted.

One question related to al Qaeda’s suicide attacks on UN offices in Algiers on December 11, which at least 41 people died, including 18 UN employees.  The attacks on the United Nations office and the Constitutional Council building were claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

An Algerian medical student wrote, “I want al-Zawahiri to answer me about those who kill the people in Algeria. What is the legal evidence for killing the innocents?”  Zawahiri responded that the people killed were not innocents.  Rather, according to al Qaeda, “they are from the Crusader unbelievers and the government troops who defend them.”  He defended the attacks by stating the one of the targets, a UN building, was a legitimate target because the UN is “an enemy of Islam and Muslims.”

In addition, Zawahiri denied that the group was responsible for killing innocent people and stated, “If there is any innocent who was killed in the mujahedin’s operations, then it was either an unintentional error or out of necessity.”  Instead, Zawahiri claimed that al Qaeda’s enemies of intentionally taking positions amongst innocent people and using them as human shields.

For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Al-Qaeda Deputy: UN Enemy of Islam – 3 April 2008

Bloomberg – Zawahiri Defends Al-Qaeda that Kill Muslims – 3 April 2008

CCN – Al Qaeda No. 2: We Don’t Kill Innocents – 3 April 2008

Los Angeles Times – Bin Laden’s Deputy Fields Queries – 3 April 2008

BBC – Al-Qaeda Deputy Defends Attacks – 2 April 2008