TERRORISM: UPCOMING VIDEO BY AL-QAEDA NO. 2 SAY FUNDAMENTALIST WEBSITES

Dubai, 18 Dec. (AKI) - A new video message by al-Qaeda's second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri will be released in the coming days, according to a report posted on Islamic fundamentalist websites Monday. The video was made by the al-Sahab company which has produced other messages by the terrorist network, says the report. The new message will reportedly focus on the "truth about the fight between Islam and unbelievers." According to some Islamic forum users al-Zawahiri will also discuss relations between the West and Islam after the historic trip of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey on 28 November-1 December.

In his last message, aired by Qatar-based satellite television al-Jazeera on 27 July, al-Qaeda's deputy leader said his organisation would not stand idle as Israel continued its offensive on Lebanon and the Palestinians and called on Muslims to fight back.

The statement was the first by Sunni Muslim-dominated al-Qaeda on Israel's offensive in Lebanon, sparked on 12 July by the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire mid August.