Caught on Tape
Video Purports to Show Al Qaeda Planning for Terror Attack
By Brian Ross and David Scott
Feb. 5 — Video discovered by ABCNEWS on an Islamic Web site shows a
remarkably detailed, behind-the-scenes look at what purports to be an al Qaeda
terror attack in the making, up to its final moments — something never seen
before.
The video appears on the Web site of the Islamic Center for Studies and
Research, which often carries al Qaeda messages. It was produced by the same
company that released the videotaped will of one of the 9/11 hijackers.
There are six videos, each about 15 minutes long.
"This is the first time we've seen film from al Qaeda that takes an operation
from the planning stages," said former White House cybersecurity czar Richard
Clarke, an ABCNEWS consultant. "I have very little doubt this is authentic.
This looks like the real thing."
The graphics and narration on the tape implicate the men responsible for a Nov.
8, 2003 suicide bomb attack on a residential compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
that killed 17 people.
The tape shows men training for a mission wearing military camouflage uniforms.
They also appear to have a stockpile of advanced military weapons.
"The equipment appears American-manufactured," Clark said. "After all the
reports that al Qaeda has been destroyed or al Qaeda is on the run, here is
evidence that they had a cell in Saudi Arabia that was very well-organized,
very well-equipped, very well-funded, very professional."
Also seen are what are described as building plans and surveillance photos of
the target and the location of security guards. The guards were the first to be
killed in the attack.
The tape also shows a bomb being built in a training camp in Saudi Arabia. Next
to the device is a radio transmitter, which may offer insight as to how the
bomb was detonated.
The only men whose faces are shown are two individuals who are described as the
eventual suicide bombers.
On the tape, the men denounce the Saudi regime. One says he is sacrificing his
life as revenge for the deaths of his comrades and to free al Qaeda prisoners
held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay. Any relatives of those prisoners,
he says, need to kidnap or kill Americans.
Images of Osama bin Laden are prominent on the video. There are several
recorded addresses from him, as well as statements by other figures considered
to be al Qaeda role models, like Mohammed Atef, the al Qaeda chief of military
operations who was killed during the U.S. strikes on Afghanistan in 2001.
As a final step, the tape shows a white truck being spray-painted in a
meticulous fashion. Soon the truck is dark blue and has all the markings of a
Saudi police vehicle. Saudi authorities said after the Nov. 8 bombing that the
vehicle used in the attack had been painted to resemble a Saudi security
vehicle.
The tape then shows the truck rolling out with two men on board. As it moves
through the nighttime streets of Riyadh, the suicide bombers can be heard
chanting "Allah Akbar," or "God is Great."
Shortly thereafter, gunfire can be heard.
"This is a two-stage attack," Clarke said. "The first stage is the shooting of
the guards by a first vehicle, and then the second stage is that the vehicle
carrying the bomb drives right up to the target."
There's a final burst of gunfire, a final shout of "Allah Akbar," and the
beginning of an explosion as the tape goes black.
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