Al Qaeda Kidnaps American Citizen, Orders US President to Release Guantanamo Prisoners

By Sami K. Martin, Christian Post Reporter Friday, December 02, 2011

Al-Qaeda recently issued a series of web-videos that support their claim of kidnapping American citizen Warren Weinstein.

Weinstein was kidnapped from his home in Lahore, Pakistan on August 13. According to NBC sources, he is “presently in the custody of militants led by Commander Tariq Afridi.”

Reuters and CNN said al-Qaeda is responsible, citing Islamist websites and statements issued by leader Ayman al Zawahiri.

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“Just as the Americans detain all whom they suspect of links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, even remotely, we detained this man who has had an active part in American aid to Pakistan since the seventies,” said Zawahiri in one statement.

Weinstein had been working on a “project in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas where Pakistani troops have been battling Islamist insurgents for years,” according to a Reuters report.

The United States’ State Department is at work to secure the release of Weinstein.

Spokesperson Joanne Moore issued a statement on the matter: “We remain concerned for Mr. Weinstein’s safety and well-being," and reported that several US-based agencies are working with Pakistani officials to investigate and free Weinstein.

Al-Qaeda has issued several statements via radio and Internet that boasts of the kidnapping and explaining that Weinstein was taken in relation to the “martyrdom” of Jamal Ibrahim Ashtiwi.

Al-Qaeda also provided a list of demands on Islamist websites. Their demands include the “release of anyone arrested on charges of belonging to al-Qaeda and the Taliban” as well as the “release of all prisoners in Guantanamo.”

According to public statements, Zawahiri insisted he issued “fair demands.” He urged the Weinstein family to “continue to pressure Obama” if they want their relative to be “handed back.”

Zawahiri joined al-Qaeda in 1998, CNN reported, and worked closely with Osama bin Laden. Together they issued the following statement: “The judgment to kill and fight Americans and their allies, whether civilians or military, is an obligation for every Muslim.”

Since bin Laden’s death May 2, Zawahiri has taken leadership of al-Qaeda.