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Islamist militants in the Somali city of Kissmayo pledged allegiance to al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, according to a statement posted on a Somali jihadi blog. “The Islamic administration of Kissmayo, under the command of Sheikh Abu Bakr Zayla'I, pledged allegiance to Sheikh Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda leaders, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Yahya al-Libi God protect them all,” the statement said.

The allegiance oath came in an audio statement voiced by the Deputy leader of al Shabab Kissmayo division, Abdel Ghani Mohammad Yousuf, and aired on a local radio station called “al Andalus Islamic Radio.” He said that the group did not “fear the infidels of America and their allies, nor did they fear the apostate government in Somalia. “

The deputy leader announced in his radio address that his group gets its religious edicts from the leaders of al Qaeda. “I say to the Somali people that our jihad is an integral part of that of our brethren in Afghanistan and Iraq,” he said. He added that “every aspect of jihad management in Somalia” was for senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan.

President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed had told a press conference in Mogadishu last month that foreign fighters had joined the ranks of Shabab al Mujahideen group and appealed to the international community for help.

This is the first time that Islamist militants in Somalia openly associate themselves with al Qaeda, despite previous indications of cooperation and coordination between the two groups.

In March 2009, bin Laden released an audiotape that he dedicated entirely to Somalia, which reflected his interest and that of al Qaeda in the country. In the tape, Bin Laden lashed out at the newly elected Somali president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and urged Somali militants to overthrow him.

Al Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden’s latest audio statement, parts of which were aired by the Arab news network al Jazeera on Wednesday, focused on the situation in Pakistan and criticizing the government of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

The timing of the release of the statement, a day before U.S. President Barack Obama’s much-anticipated speech to Muslims out of Cairo, and Bin Laden’s attacks on Obama in the audio seemed to suggest al Qaeda’s leader’s statement was intended as a pre-reaction to the speech.

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In a new audio statement aired by the al Jazeera Arab news channel on Wednesday, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden accused President Barack Obama and his administration of “panting new seeds of hatred and vengeance towards America” by supporting the military operations against militants in Pakistan.

“The number of these seeds equates that of those who have suffered and been made homeless in the Swat valley and the tribal areas in northern and southern Waziristan, as well as those who sympathize with them,” he added.

Al Qaeda’s leader compared President Obama’s policies to those of his predecessor President George W. Bush and said they created “more enmity towards Muslims” and “paved the way for new long wars.”

“Let the American people prepare to continue harvesting what their White House leaders grow, in the years and decades to come,” he added.

Bin Laden’s statement comes a day after al Qaeda’s number two Ayman al Zawahri said President Obama was not welcomed in Egypt, where he is expected to address Muslims on Thursday.

Bin Laden also accused Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari of receiving his orders from President Obama and claimed one million Muslims, including elderly people, women and children, had to flee their homes because of the operations in the valley.

The head of the political committee of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) assured that two years after the group joined al Qaeda, AQIM has become a regional organization that enjoys the support and confidence of the top al Qaeda leadership.

Abu Abdel Ilah Ahmad’s comments came in a 38-minute audio interview released by the group Monday.

Ahmad refuted all the allegations reported in the media about the group weakening and losing ground by the day, and that many of its men have been turning themselves to the authorities in Algeria.

He insisted that the group has joined the global jihadi movement, that its influence extends beyond the Algerian territory and that it has gained the support of the public in Algeria, Mauritania and other countries.

Criticizing the recent presidential elections held in Algeria, Ahmad launched a scathing attack on the current Algerian regime, describing it as a “blend of soldiers and politicians who are intellectually and historically influenced by the French colonialism and more recently the American one.”

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, speaking in a new audio recording released Thursday on various jihadi Web forums and downloaded by CBS News, has asked Somalis to rebel against their newly elected president.

This is the second audio released by bin Laden in six days, and the reference to Somalia's new president, who was only elected on Jan. 31, helps to date the recording. In an audio released on March 14, bin Laden asked Muslim youth to disseminate extremist literature online.

In the audio, titled “Fight On O’ Champions of Somalia,” Bin Laden first analyzes the situation in Somalia, explaining that Ethiopian troops were acting as proxy forces for NATO and the "International Crusade" which he says appointed former President Abdullah Yucef as its representative in the country.

Al Qaeda's leader doesn't waste much time in getting to his opinion of the newly elected president of Somalia, an Islamist militant-turned-politician Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad.

Bin Laden says Ahmad is just another puppet brought in by the West because Somalis were fooled by the not-so-convincing President Yucef.

“But, since you weren’t taken in by the old trick of 'Karzais’ which they have been using in the region, they replaced him and brought in a new, revised version, similar to Sayyaf, Rabbani and Ahmed Shah Massoud, who were leaders of the Afghan Mujahideen before they turned back on their heels as apostates and helped their ally - America – bring down the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan,” bin Laden said.

Bin Laden decreed that Somalis should continue to fight the new regime, just as they did with the old one. “These sorts of presidents are the surrogates of our enemies and their authority is null and void in the first place, and as Sheikh Sharif is one of them, he must be dethroned and fought.”

Members of militant Islamist Internet forums distributed a video walkthrough of a PlayStation game called “Fugitive Hunter” showing an animation of Bin Laden fighting the “bad guys.”

The game consists of chasing al Qaeda leader and often ends with bin Laden being killed or captured. One member commented saying, “American bravery can only be seen in video games.”

Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden proposed liberating Palestinian lands by finding bases in countries that surround it, from which the militants would move out to open the borders by force.

Bin Laden suggested that the militants should establish a strong base in Iraq and from there move into Jordan and force their way into Palestine. He urged Muslims around the world to back the Islamist militants in Iraq in order for them to liberate Iraq and carry out his plan.

Bin Laden’s statements came in a 33-minute audio tape entitled “Practical Steps To Liberate Palestine.” The tape was produced by al Qaeda’s media wing As Sahab. Bin Laden’s voice was played over a still picture of himself next to a picture of al Aqsa mosque.

Bin Laden also noted that it was time to give some much needed attention to the Palestinian cause and acknowledged that there has been a delay in addressing the issue. “We have been very late in helping them, and that has damaged our causes and made them even more difficult and complicated,” he said.

He claimed that the inability to come to the rescue to the people of Gaza during the recent Israeli war was due to the fact that Arab rulers, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, were preventing the Islamist militants from crossing into Gaza and defending its people.

“The bitter truth is that our countries are occupied from within and the Arab Zionists and their soldiers are the ones who prevent us from helping the weak and oppressed there,” he said, adding that it was not possible to try to liberate Palestinian lands if Muslims could not free themselves first.
Bin Laden also stressed that Arab rulers had to be removed with the help of honest Muslim leaders who would set up what he called “advice committees” in order to create awareness and recruit as many people as possible to face those rulers.

He also specified a number of tasks for these committees to deliver, including preparing lists with the names of the scholars and thinkers who support militancy and promote their works amongst Muslim youths.
Bin Laden also called for spreading the works of a number of salafist scholars, specifying the book titles, and where to download them on the Internet.

Abu Khabab al Sudani, the leader of Sudanese group called Jamaat al Tawhiid Wal Sunna, addressed Sudanese President Omar al Bashir released an Internet statement. He told him that the ICC arrest warrant against him was a well-deserved result for his violations of the Islamic law, his acceptance of the man-made laws, his adherence to international organizations, treaties and agreements, but most importantly for throwing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his followers out of Sudan on the orders of the leaders of “the Zionist-Crusader front.”

Abu Khabab advised the Sudanese president to repent and return to “the right path.” He told him that the first step should be to return to the leader of al Qaeda over $200 million, which al Sudani claimed was value of his investments in Sudan at the time when he was based there in the 1980s.
“One of the top officials in your government admitted that you owe the Sheikh over $200 million which you confiscated and never returned to him, explaining that you did not know how to hand it to him.” Abu Khabab said.

Jamaat al Tawhiid Wal Sunna is the group that claimed responsibility for the attack on a U.S. embassy vehicle in Khartoum on the first hours of January 1st 2008. U.S. Diplomat John Granville and his driver were both killed in the attack.

Many Hamas supporters did not seem impressed with al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden’s statement which was released yesterday. On Palestine Dialogue forums, some members questioned what Bin Laden and al Qaeda have done for them.
“For me Nasrallah (the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbullah) is more honorable than Bin Laden. Bin Laden is good with blowing up Arabic urban cities with no enemy,” said a pro-Hamas member called “Dam Sharif” (holy blood in English).
Another member, Abu Mus’ab al Kheir, said: “At last they woke up! After the martyrs in Gaza exceeded 1000. Why don’t you support Gaza by killing even a single Jew in one of the Arab countries!”

A member of the Islamist al Falojah Internet forum posted a message today urging al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to rescue Gaza’s children. The man going by the name “Dabbaba el-Shishani” or “Chechen Tank” posted graphic pictures of children killed during the recent Israeli bombardments of Gaza and addressed Bin Laden saying “Sheikh…aren’t those pictures enough for you? Pictures of Muslim children killed at the hand of the Zionists. O’s Sheikh Osama, we want it to be a quacking strike, in the heart of Tel Aviv.”
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb also posted an Internet statement signed by the group leader Abu Mus’ab Abdel Wadud, in which it condemned the “Genocide and Butchery” of Palestinians in Gaza. The group warned Israel that the militants will come after them to avenge Muslims killed in Gaza.