Al-Qaeda confirmed the death of Osama bin Laden Friday in an Internet message that vowed revenge on the US and its allies,including Pakistan,according to a statement issued by the Islamist militant group. Five days after President Barack Obama announced bin Ladens death in a US raid in Pakistan,al-Qaeda confirmed the death of its leader as a historic moment,and vowed not to deviate from the path of armed struggle. The mujaheed (holy warrior) Shiekh Abu Abdullah,Osama bin Mohammed bin Laden,God have mercy on him,was killed on the path taken by those before him and will be taken by others after him. Congratulations to the Islamic umma (community) for the martyrdom of its son Osama, the groups statement said. The group,which said it will soon release an audio tape made by its leader a week before he died,vowed not to deviate from the path of armed struggle and said Osamas blood is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain.It will remain,with permission from God Almighty,a curse that hunts the Americans and their collaborators and chase them outside and inside their country. Their happiness will turn into sorrow,and their blood will be mixed with their tears, al-Qaeda said. We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan,on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed,to rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves . and in general to cleanse their country from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it. The al-Qaeda statement also urged the US to treat the bodies of Osama bin Laden and those killed with him in the raid with care,and to return their bodies. We warn the US not to harm the corpse of the sheikh or expose it to any indecent treatment or to harm any members of his family,living or dead,and to deliver the corpses to their families, it said. Any harm done will open the doors of evil upon you doubly,and you will not have anyone but yourselves to blame. Western intelligence officials said Friday they are seeing increased Internet and phone chatter about cheap,small-scale terror attacks to avenge the death of Osama. European security officials say there is no specific plot to justify raising the threat level in Europe. But one of their biggest fears is the possibility of a Mumbai-style attack like the 2008 shooting spree. Interpol has asked law enforcement agencies in some 188 countries to be on alert for retaliatory attacks.
