Geo World

Osama fosters Arab revolt in posthumous message

Thursday, May 19, 2011  WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda has released a message from slain leader Osama bin Laden praising the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia and urging Muslims to take advantage of a "rare historic opportunity" to rise up, US monitors said. The 12-minute, 37-second audio message posted on jihadist forums on Wednesday by Al Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab addresses Muslims on the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, SITE Intelligence said. Speaking from beyond the grave in the posthumous message, Bin Laden recommends setting up a council to offer revolutionary advice and decide the best timing to spread revolt across the Muslim world. "A delay may cause the opportunity to be lost, and carrying it out before the right time will increase the number of casualties," bin Laden says in the audio message, according to SITE's translation. "I think that the winds of change will blow over the entire Muslim world, with permission from Allah." A covert US Navy SEAL team killed bin Laden on May 2 at his Pakistan compound in Abbottabad before burying him at sea. (AFP)