This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/27/osama-bin-laden-blind-eye
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Osama bin Laden was blind in one eye, says al-Qaida leader | Osama bin Laden was blind in one eye, says al-Qaida leader |
| (4 months later) | |
| Al-Qaida's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has revealed that his predecessor, Osama bin Laden, was blind in one eye and confirmed that in his youth he had been a member of the Saudi Arabian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. | Al-Qaida's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has revealed that his predecessor, Osama bin Laden, was blind in one eye and confirmed that in his youth he had been a member of the Saudi Arabian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. |
| In a video posted on a jihadi website, the third in a series entitled Days with the Imam, Zawahiri narrates stories about Bin Laden, who was killed by US navy commandos in May 2011 at his compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad. | In a video posted on a jihadi website, the third in a series entitled Days with the Imam, Zawahiri narrates stories about Bin Laden, who was killed by US navy commandos in May 2011 at his compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad. |
| Dressed in a white cloak and turban, Zawahiri revealed "for those who do not know" that the Saudi-born Bin Laden was left blind in the right eye after an unspecified accident in his youth. | Dressed in a white cloak and turban, Zawahiri revealed "for those who do not know" that the Saudi-born Bin Laden was left blind in the right eye after an unspecified accident in his youth. |
| According to al-Arabiya TV, Zawahiri confirmed that Bin Laden was a member of the Saudi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood before being ejected for insisting on waging jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the late 1980s. | According to al-Arabiya TV, Zawahiri confirmed that Bin Laden was a member of the Saudi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood before being ejected for insisting on waging jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the late 1980s. |
| Acquaintances of Bin Laden have described in the past how he was formally recruited into the brotherhood as an adolescent in Jeddah and thrown out over disagreements about Afghanistan. | Acquaintances of Bin Laden have described in the past how he was formally recruited into the brotherhood as an adolescent in Jeddah and thrown out over disagreements about Afghanistan. |
| But Zawahiri's testimony has special value because he was there at the time as a leader of the Egyptian jihad organisation, which became part of al-Qaida in 1988. | But Zawahiri's testimony has special value because he was there at the time as a leader of the Egyptian jihad organisation, which became part of al-Qaida in 1988. |
| Zawahiri said Bin Laden had travelled to Pakistan to deliver cash to jihadis in Peshawar but had defied orders from the Brotherhood and joined the armed struggle. | Zawahiri said Bin Laden had travelled to Pakistan to deliver cash to jihadis in Peshawar but had defied orders from the Brotherhood and joined the armed struggle. |
| The Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement, has eschewed violence in recent years and now counts itself as a democratic movement that is one of the big winners of the uprisings of the Arab spring. It dominates the political scene in Tunisia and Egypt and is highly influential from Libya to Syria. | The Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement, has eschewed violence in recent years and now counts itself as a democratic movement that is one of the big winners of the uprisings of the Arab spring. It dominates the political scene in Tunisia and Egypt and is highly influential from Libya to Syria. |
| Zawahiri is thought to be in hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas and apparently experiencing the difficulties of communication that have plagued what security experts call "al-Qaida central" in recent years. | Zawahiri is thought to be in hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas and apparently experiencing the difficulties of communication that have plagued what security experts call "al-Qaida central" in recent years. |
| The latest video appeared to be around two months old as he offered greetings to Muslims for the start of Ramadan, which ended on 20 August. | The latest video appeared to be around two months old as he offered greetings to Muslims for the start of Ramadan, which ended on 20 August. |
| On 11 September, Zawahiri appeared in a video that was released on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks, declaring that the United States was at war with Islam and that American Muslims should prepare for a "holocaust". | On 11 September, Zawahiri appeared in a video that was released on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks, declaring that the United States was at war with Islam and that American Muslims should prepare for a "holocaust". |
| Earlier Zawahiri issued a video confirming the death of his deputy, Abu Yahya al-Libi, who was killed in a US drone strike in June. | Earlier Zawahiri issued a video confirming the death of his deputy, Abu Yahya al-Libi, who was killed in a US drone strike in June. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |