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Now, Osama messages on cell phones

CAIRO: Video messages of Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri can now be downloaded to cell phones, the terror network has announced, as part of its attempts to further extend its reach.

The announcement was posted late on Friday by Al-Qaeda’s media wing, al-Sahab, on websites commonly used by Islamic militants. As of Saturday, eight previously recorded videos were made available including a recent tribute to the slain former Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by U.S. forces in Iraq in June 2006.

In a written message introducing the new cell phone videos, al-Zawahri, Al-Qaeda’s number two figure, asked followers to spread the terror group’s messages.

Videos playable on cell phones are increasingly popular in West Asia. The files are transferred from phone to phone using Bluetooth or infrared wireless technology.

Videos showing former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s execution in December 2006 showed up on cell phones soon after his death. In Egypt, images showing police brutality have been passed around via cell phones including one video that showed an arrested bus driver being physically abused by the police in the fall of 2006. — AP

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