Now, Al-Qaida videos on cellphones

CAIRO: Al-Qaida video messages of Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri can now be downloaded to cell phones, the terror network announced as part of its attempts to extend its influence. The announcement was posted late Friday by Al-Qaida's media wing, al-Sahab, on Web sites commonly used by Islamic militants. Eight previously recorded videos were made available including a recent tribute to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former Al-Qaida in Iraq leader killed by US forces in Iraq in June 2006. "The elite jihadi media group presents the first batch of al-Sahab videos to be downloaded to cell phones," the announcement said. Ben Venzke, the head of IntelCenter, a US group that monitors and analyzes militant messages, said it was not the first time al-Sahab has released videos designed for cell phones. He said the group has been releasing them for years, but that between September and December, a few video messages did not come with versions for cell phones. "They might just be filling in some of the gaps, or just trying to release some that had come out before," Venzke said. In a message introducing the new cell phone videos, Al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaida's No 2 figure, asked followers to spread the terror group's messages. "I asked God for the men of jihadi media to spread the message of Islam and monotheism to the world and spread real awareness to the people of the nations," Al-Zawahiri said. In December, Al-Qaida invited journalists to send questions to Al-Zawahiri. The invitation was the first time the media-savvy Al-Qaida offered outsiders to "interview" one of its leaders since the 9/11 attacks.