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American Morning
First Claim of Responsibility in Deadly Bombing in Riyadh Surfaces
Aired November 11, 2003 - 08:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The first claim of responsibility in the deadly bombing in Riyadh surfaced today. An Arab magazine says it received an e-mail, purportedly from an al Qaeda operative, claiming the terror group was behind Saturday's attack. The bombing killed 17 people, mostly Arabs.
CNN's Mike Boettcher is following the terrorist's trail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Journalist Paul Edele has been monitoring the message traffic on al Qaeda's Web sites, some of the so-called chatter that led to warnings of an impending attack.
PAUL EDELE, JOURNALIST: It was an incitement to supporters of al Qaeda to wage the Jihad in Saudi Arabia. It had a slightly defensive note.
BOETTCHER: Ever since the suicide bombings in Riyadh in May, when Saudis were targeted alongside Westerners, al Qaeda has been trying to justify its decision to launch attacks on Saudi soil, says Edele. The group posted a slickly produced hour long video on the Web. This message from one of the suicide bombers made it clear that al Qaeda viewed the Saudi royal family in the same way it viewed the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): There is no Islam in this government. It is the government of lies and evil and it is this government that betrays our religion. Today's war is a war against all this.
BOETTCHER: But in an online magazine put out by al Qaeda, one of the leaders of the May attacks talks about a real debate within the group, noting that Saudi Arabia provides al Qaeda with recruits and money and that further attacks put those at risk.
EDELE: I've no doubt that the people in favor of violence in Saudi Arabia have won the debate. There was a clear statement on the 5th of November signed by al Qaeda explaining in detail what it was doing in Saudi Arabia, again, arguing the familiar litany of al Qaeda that they didn't start the war with the West, the West started it.
BOETTCHER: Paul Edele says that part of al Qaeda's media strategy, particularly on the Internet, is to magnify the effect of any attack and to create fear that another might be on the way. (on camera): He calls it a war of nerves being waged by Osama bin Laden against Westerners to wear them down and drive them out of Saudi Arabia.
Mike Boettcher, CNN, Stockholm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: A Saudi official today announced the arrest of several suspects. One person in custody told investigators that al Qaeda may have missed its target in Saturday's bombing. Saudi spokesman Nail al-Jubeir will be our guest in the next hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Surfaces>
Aired November 11, 2003 - 08:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The first claim of responsibility in the deadly bombing in Riyadh surfaced today. An Arab magazine says it received an e-mail, purportedly from an al Qaeda operative, claiming the terror group was behind Saturday's attack. The bombing killed 17 people, mostly Arabs.
CNN's Mike Boettcher is following the terrorist's trail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Journalist Paul Edele has been monitoring the message traffic on al Qaeda's Web sites, some of the so-called chatter that led to warnings of an impending attack.
PAUL EDELE, JOURNALIST: It was an incitement to supporters of al Qaeda to wage the Jihad in Saudi Arabia. It had a slightly defensive note.
BOETTCHER: Ever since the suicide bombings in Riyadh in May, when Saudis were targeted alongside Westerners, al Qaeda has been trying to justify its decision to launch attacks on Saudi soil, says Edele. The group posted a slickly produced hour long video on the Web. This message from one of the suicide bombers made it clear that al Qaeda viewed the Saudi royal family in the same way it viewed the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): There is no Islam in this government. It is the government of lies and evil and it is this government that betrays our religion. Today's war is a war against all this.
BOETTCHER: But in an online magazine put out by al Qaeda, one of the leaders of the May attacks talks about a real debate within the group, noting that Saudi Arabia provides al Qaeda with recruits and money and that further attacks put those at risk.
EDELE: I've no doubt that the people in favor of violence in Saudi Arabia have won the debate. There was a clear statement on the 5th of November signed by al Qaeda explaining in detail what it was doing in Saudi Arabia, again, arguing the familiar litany of al Qaeda that they didn't start the war with the West, the West started it.
BOETTCHER: Paul Edele says that part of al Qaeda's media strategy, particularly on the Internet, is to magnify the effect of any attack and to create fear that another might be on the way. (on camera): He calls it a war of nerves being waged by Osama bin Laden against Westerners to wear them down and drive them out of Saudi Arabia.
Mike Boettcher, CNN, Stockholm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: A Saudi official today announced the arrest of several suspects. One person in custody told investigators that al Qaeda may have missed its target in Saturday's bombing. Saudi spokesman Nail al-Jubeir will be our guest in the next hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Surfaces>
