2011-12-02
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri claims that his terror network has kidnapped a Jewish American aid worker in Pakistan. According to an audio recording released on Islamist websites, he claims to have captured Warren Weinstein, a 70-year-old development expert, from his Lahore home in August. "I tell the captive soldiers of Al Qaeda and the Taliban and our female prisoners held in the prisons of the crusaders and their collaborators, we have not forgotten you and in order to free you we have taken hostage the Jewish American Warren Weinstein," al-Zawahiri said in the 30-minute tape, demanding the release of high-profile terrorists as ransom.The heroic capture of the septuagenarian was reportedly carried out by Al-Qaeda's crack "Senior Citizens Kidnapping Brigade." al-Zawahiri addressed Weinstein's family, assuring them that the kidnapping was nothing personal. "Your problem is not with us but with [President Barack] Obama. We have raised fair demands... So continue to pressure [him], if you want your relative to be handed back," he added, addressing Weinstein's family. The State Department said that is in contact with Weinstein's family in the U.S. "The United States condemns kidnappings of any kind and we call for the immediate release of the individual and the prosecution of those responsible," said spokeswoman Joanne Moore.Those who know Weinstein in Pakistan were stunned over his kidnapping. "I am really shocked to hear," said Ehtesham Ullah Khan, a local gemologist. "He was a very nice person and, to me, he made many friends as compared to no enemies." Well, almost no enemies, except for the hundreds of millions of muslims who hate Jews.