Al-Qaida leader circulates video, dispels rumor of his death
By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A rare video has appeared of al-Qaida’s chief praising an Indian Muslim woman who in February defied a ban on wearing the traditional headscarf, or hijab. The footage is the the first proof in months that Ayman al-Zawahri is still alive. Rumors of his death have persistently circulated. The reclusive al-Qaida chief in the video released on Tuesday, and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, praises Muskan Khan, the woman who defied a ban on the wearing of the hijab in schools in India’s southwestern state of Karnataka. There is no clear indication in the video of the whereabouts of al-Zawahri.
