Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri appeared in a new video marking the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, months after rumours spread that he was dead.
The SITE Intelligence Group that monitors jihadist websites said the video was released on Saturday. In it, al-Zawahri said that “Jerusalem Will Never be Judaized,” and praised al-Qaeda attacks including one that targeted Russian troops in Syria in January.
Al-Zawahri has also noted the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
The speech was recorded in a 61-minute, 37-second video produced by the group's as-Sahab Media Foundation.
Rumours have spread since late 2020 that al-Zawahri had died from illness. Since then, no video or proof of life surfaced, until Saturday.
Zawahiri succeeded Osama Bin Laden as the chief of the group after Laden was hunted down by US SEAL forces in Pakistan.