Washington:
The latest audio tape released by the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claiming responsibility for the failed December 25 plane bombing by a Nigerian terror suspect, reveals that he has weakened over the years, the US President said on Tuesday.
"Bin Laden sending out a tape trying to take credit for a Nigerian student who engaged in a failed bombing attempt is an indication of how weakened he is, because this is not something necessarily directed by him," Barack Obama said in a TV interview.
"Since 9/11, we have put in a series of measures that make us much safer now than we were before 9/11. Al-Qaeda itself is greatly weakened from where it was back in 2000," Obama said in response to a question.
Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab had tried to blow up a North West Airlines plane on December 25. The plane had some 300 people on board. During interrogation, Abdul Mutallab said that he was trained and given the explosives by al-Qaeda in Yemen.
This week, bin Laden claimed credit for the botched plane bombing.
"Bin Laden sending out a tape trying to take credit for a Nigerian student who engaged in a failed bombing attempt is an indication of how weakened he is, because this is not something necessarily directed by him," Barack Obama said in a TV interview.
"Since 9/11, we have put in a series of measures that make us much safer now than we were before 9/11. Al-Qaeda itself is greatly weakened from where it was back in 2000," Obama said in response to a question.
Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab had tried to blow up a North West Airlines plane on December 25. The plane had some 300 people on board. During interrogation, Abdul Mutallab said that he was trained and given the explosives by al-Qaeda in Yemen.
This week, bin Laden claimed credit for the botched plane bombing.
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