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Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Al-Qaeda-affiliated media groups and supporters shared posts on Telegram to mark the 20th anniversary of what they dubbed the "Manhattan Assault."
Content posted over the past few weeks has linked the attacks to the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, suggesting that Afghanistan's newly appointed government, which is expected to be sworn in on September 11, ends the era of American dominance in the fight against Islamic Jihad, represented by Al-Qaeda.
A review of content posted so far indicates that the coming days will witness the release of more content focusing on glorifying the 9/11 attacks while emphasizing that avenging the victims by going into Afghanistan was the wrong road for the U.S. to follow and vowing that jihad against the U.S. and its "Crusader" allies will not stop.
On Telegram, Warith Al-Qassam, a key Al-Qaeda supporter who often disseminates content released by Al-Qaeda's official media groups and other affiliates, was among the earliest to share content celebrating the 20th anniversary of 911. His posts were coupled with the hashtags "Manhattan assault," and "The 20th Anniversary."
On his Telegram bot, Al-Qassam started a countdown post on August 6, 2021, writing: "36 days, 12 hours and eight minutes are left before celebrating the 20th anniversary of the greatest assault in the contemporary history of Muslims."
Over the next few days he shared frequent countdown posts, which he always concluded with a quote by slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, which said: "They [Americans] will not enjoy safety before we [Muslims] live as a reality in Palestine."
Al-Qassam also promoted a new Telegram bot which he seems to have created for the occasion, explaining that it is devoted only to sharing content about the 9/11 attacks.
The bot shared its first post on August 8, 2021. The post reiterated that the purpose of the bot is "to cover the events of the 20th anniversary - the greatest assault in the contemporary history of Muslims: Manhattan assault."
The bot continued to emphasize that it will be devoted to celebrating the 9/11 attacks, with a poster listing Al-Qaeda-affiliated media groups which will be producing content, such as Al-Zallaqa, Al-Malahim, Al-Andalus, Al-Firdos, Al-Sanad, Al-Kata'ib, Sham Al-Ribat, Al-Yakoot, Al-Sahab, and Al-Hurr.
On August 12, the bot shared a post highlighting a statement by "a U.S. congressman," whom it did not name, saying: "Al-Qaeda and Taliban may celebrate 9/11 by burning down our embassy in Kabul." The post was probably referring to a statement by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.
On August 25, the bot shared a poster promoting the upcoming release of a video by the pro-Al-Qaeda Nashir Al-Khayr media group, which it said is the first new production made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
On August 28, 2021, the bot shared photos showing the planes that flew into the World Trade Center and the smoke pouring from the towers.
The post included the Arabic message, "If our messages to you were carried by words... we would not have sent them to you by planes."
The post also included the hashtag "The 20th anniversary."
