“We will perform the jihad”
Former Guantanamo prisoners speak out
Two former Guantanamo Bay prisoners who have now taken leadership positions in Al Qaeda’s Arabian Peninsula branch have released several statements on a jihadi Internet forum. “By God, we assert to our leaders and shaykhs - Shaykh Osama bin Laden, God preserve him, and Dr. Ayman Zawahiri—that we will fulfill our promise, and that we will perform the jihad,” said Shaykh Abu Sufyan al-Azdi Saed al-Shahri, formerly prisoner number 372. “By God, our detention only made us more insistent and committed to our principles, which we strove for and were detained for.”
Get the Best of Maclean’s straight to your inbox.
Sign up for news, commentary and analysis. Join 60,000+ Canadian readers.