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Al-Qaida Claims Responsibility for Kenya Attack, Says Arab TV - 2002-12-08


The al-Qaida terror group is reportedly claiming responsibility for attacks that claimed 13 victims last month in Kenya. The group is threatening to widen its war against the "Christian-Jewish alliance."

An audio statement carried on an Islamist website was broadcast on the Qatar-based al Jazeera television channel. It claimed responsibility for the November 28 suicide bomb attack at a hotel in Mombasa that killed 10 Kenyans and three Israelis.

The statement also claimed responsibility for a failed missile attack on an Israeli airliner taking off from a nearby airport.

Israel had named al-Qaida as the prime suspect in the attacks.

The man speaking on the audio Internet message identified himself as Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a spokesman for Osama bin Laden's terror group.

The statement promises more "lethal" attacks against the United States and Israel.

The statement, in part, said "the Christian-Jewish alliance will not be safe from attacks by the Mujahideen, or Muslim warriors" and adds that the next phase of attacks will be bigger and more lethal and will occur on land, sea, and in the air.

Mr. Gaith proclaimed himself an al-Qaida spokesman following the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. His whereabouts and those of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden are unknown.

The statement noted that al-Qaida does not usually claim responsibility for attacks, but would do so according to what it calls "relevant circumstances."

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