Report: Al-Qaeda Leader Could Be Alive as He Appears in Footage Released on 9/11 Anniversary - FARS

(FNA)- The leader of Al-Qaeda terrorist group, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, was reportedly spotted on Saturday in a video released on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks the online activity of extremist groups.

There are new doubts that the 60 minutes of footage is recent, Rita Katz, SITE’s director noted, as he “doesn't mention the Taliban's Afghanistan victory, and his talk of the US 'making its exit from Afghanistan' could have been said early as February 2020", following the Doha Agreement,Sputnik reported.

Nevertheless, Al-Zawahiri spoke about the “Judaisation of Jerusalem” and an attack on a Russian military base carried out by the Al-Qaeda-linked group Hurras Al-Deen in Syria in January of this year. The latter at least moves the date of his presumed death a little later.

There has been no reliable confirmation of Al-Zawahiri’s death, with some reporting that he is seriously ill.

The Taliban's ties to Al-Qaeda date back to the 1990s, when they were in power in Afghanistan and reportedly provided for Al-Qaeda members, including Osama bin Laden. These ties were reportedly strengthened by their joint struggle against foreign forces in Afghanistan and other interests.