Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of terror group al-Qaeda, released a video ahead of the 15-year anniversary of the group's Sept. 11 attacks that both threatened the U.S. and attempted to assert al-Qaeda's dominance.
According to the International Business Times, al-Zawahiri reportedly said that "as long as [U.S.] crimes continue, then the events of Sept. 11 will be repeated a thousand times, Allah permitting," and called the 2001 attacks "blessed invasions."
Also per the Times, al-Zawahiri used the video as a mechanism for affirming al-Qaeda's importance; he appeared to take a swipe at the Islamic State's means of ruling and rise to power. The paper spoke to former al-Qaeda tracker and CIA officer Nada Bakos, who believes the video shows a kind of "competition" between the two organizations.
"Real soldiers… do not impose themselves on you as rulers without your acceptance and consultation," al-Zawahiri reportedly said, referring to the Islamic State.
Bakos told the Times that "all of this [9/11 talk] is very much 'Look what we were able to pull off. No one else can do anything like this.' He's really trying to present his case [for al-Qaeda]."
Unlike Osama bin Laden, al-Zawahiri has been able to avoid arrest or capture since the 1990s.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former mayor Michael Bloomberg, and New York Senators Kristen Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer attended a memorial service Sunday morning at Ground Zero.
