Al-Qaida Posts Video Of Rockets Purportedly Being Fired At US Base In Afghanistan

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ Al-Qaida posted a video Friday of rockets being fired at what it claimed was a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, though it didn't show the rockets landing. <br/><br/>The 56-second

Friday, February 23rd 2007, 6:17 pm

By: News On 6

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ Al-Qaida posted a video Friday of rockets being fired at what it claimed was a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, though it didn't show the rockets landing.

The 56-second video appeared to be the latest in a series that the terror network has released to convey that its insurgents are faring well in the Afghan war.

The video showed several rockets being launched from a forested hillside in the Balwara area of Afghanistan in November, according to a subtitle. The base was not visible.

The video, which opened with old footage of U.S. vehicles exploding as they were hit, surfaced on an Internet site where al-Qaida and other militant groups are known to post messages. Its authenticity could not be independently confirmed.

The pictures were accompanied by a song whose lyrics included the line: ``Burn the Christians, fight the devious Christians who worship crosses.''

The tape shows four missiles streaking into the sky from a single-tube launcher held down by sandbags and rocks. Two bearded young fighters squat next to the tube, operating it in a perfectly relaxed way. One wears a dark-blue woolen hat, the other is bareheaded.

A third man, with a light brown scarf loosely wrapped around his head, stands and points across a valley, presumably at the target. A long aerial protrudes from his off-camera side as if he is holding a walkie-talkie.

There is no sign of the four missiles hitting anything. The tape does not show them land.

The tape bears the logo of As-Sahab, al-Qaida's media production wing.

A U.S. company that tracks militant statements, IntelCenter, said the video was the eighth that al-Qaida has released so far this month, making February 2007 the second busiest month for video issued by the terror network. In June 2006 al-Qaida released 11 videos, IntelCenter said.