Osama bin Laden has been shown in a new video clip in which he praises the major blow dealt to the US economy on September 11.
The footage was aired by the Middle East Broadcasting (MBC) Corporation, which said it had evidence the video was recorded in the first half of December 2001.
"Losses on the Wall Street market reached 16% and they said this number was a record since the market opened," bin Laden said.
"More than $1 trillion in losses resulted from these successful and blessed attacks and may God bless these martyrs and welcome them to paradise," he added.
The footage appears to be a clip from a video obtained by Qatar-based satellite television network al-Jazeera which showed bin Laden and deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri facing the camera on a grassy area.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration has concluded that bin Laden was at Tora Bora when U.S. aircraft began bombing on Nov. 30. but escaped because U.S. ground troops were not sent to pursue him, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Intelligence officials have what they consider to be decisive evidence, gleaned from interrogations and intercepted communications, that bin Laden was inside the Tora Bora complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border when the battle began, but escaped in the first 10 days of December, the newspaper said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
