http://www.localnewsleader.com/kindred/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=10045Zawahri to release message on pope, Bush
CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri will soon release a new message about the pope, President Bush and Sudan‘s troubled Darfur region, an Islamic Web site said Wednesday.
His latest came earlier this month, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Al-Qaida released a string of videos for the anniversary, showing increasingly sophisticated production techniques in a likely effort to demonstrate that it remains a powerful, confident force despite the U.S.-led war on terror.
Osama bin Laden and his deputy al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. Many analysts believe that they no longer have centralized control to order or organize attacks by militants around the world. The capture and killing of many midlevel commanders has left al-Qaida more diffuse and amorphous.
The banner did not give a specific time, saying only that al-Zawahri would release a message about the pope, Bush and Darfur "soon, God willing."