Islamists on Friday rejected as "baseless" an Internet claim that al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, had died. A Web site, which in the past published statements on behalf of al Qaeda, posted on Thursday a message from the network claiming that its chief died.
However, experts and Islamists were quoted on Friday by Al Sharq al Awsat newspaper, saying the report is baseless. Yasser al-Siri, an Egyptian dissident who ran the Islamic Observation Centre in Britain and who is considered close to al Qaeda, told the newspaper, that Bin Laden is alive. According to him, al Qaeda leader will soon appear in a new videotape to be aired by one of the Arabic TV channels.
On his part, Omar Bakri Mohammed, the spiritual leader of the London-based sect al-Muhajiroun, admitted that the statement was written in an Islamic style but cast doubts on its content.
Dr. Hani Al Sibai, a London-based expert on fundamental Islamic groups, conveyed that much attention should be directed to this Internet message. According to him, if Bin Laden dies, his deputy Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri will succeed him.
