Bin Laden Offers Gold for Killing Bremer, Annan
By Firouz Sedarat
DUBAI (Reuters) - A purported statement by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden offered rewards in gold for killing U.S Iraq administrator Paul Bremer or U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, an Islamist Web site said on Thursday.
Bin Laden (right) swears on the body of his lover/toilet paper (left) that he will cough up the gold.
Reuters Photo
The statement posted on the Web site said the 10 kg gold reward would also be given to anyone who kills other officials including Bremer's deputy or U.N. envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi.
It also called for a jihad, or holy war, by Muslims against the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, the U.S.-appointed Governing Council and whoever cooperates with them.
"We in al Qaeda organization are committed to a prize of 10,000 grams of gold to whoever kills Bremer, his deputy, the commander of American forces or his deputy in Iraq," it said.
It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the statement, which the Web site said was the text of an audio recording by bin Laden.
The recording could not be immediately downloaded.
At current prices, the reward in gold would be worth around $125,000.
The statement blasted the United Nations as a tool of "Crusaders" -- a reference to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and accused it of handing Palestinian lands to Zionists.
"Whoever kills Kofi Annan or the head of his delegation to Iraq or his representatives such as Lakhdar Brahimi will get the same prize," said the statement, addressed to the Iraqi people.
Brahimi is in Baghdad for talks on forming an interim Iraqi government in time for the U.S. handover of sovereignty at the end of June.
The statement offered one kg of gold to anyone who kills a U.S. or British soldier or civilian working for the U.S.-led coalition and 500 grams of gold for the killing of their allies like the Japanese or Italians.
"Due to the security situation rewards will be handed over at the first possible opportunity," it said.
The United States has offered a reward of $25 million for information that would help it capture bin Laden -- blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities.
The statement said jihad was a duty for all Muslims in Iraq as it was "clearly apparent that the American campaign has nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction or lifting the suffering of the Iraqi people...it is a blatant occupation."
"You should know that defending Muslim land and especially the land of the two holy mosques (in Saudi Arabia) begins by fighting on the first lines in Iraq. Wake up you Muslims to the danger and rush to the battlefield of Jihad!
"Rush to fight the crusaders and Jews, you Muslim youth, and continue your support to rescue your brothers in Iraq."
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