UPDATED ON:
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2007
14:03 MECCA TIME, 11:03 GMT
 
NEWS CENTRAL/S. ASIA
Zawahiri invites media questions
Al-Zawahiri has appeared in more tapes than his leader, Osama Bin Laden, this year [AFP]
Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's second most senior leader, is to answer questions submitted by journalists, the outlawed group's media outlet has said.
 
"Anyone who would like to ask him a question must be concise and precise," a statement published on December 16 by media outlets As-Sahab and Al-Fajr said.
People are invited to pose questions to al-Zawahiri in writing via the two websites before January 16 and both media organisations and individuals are welcome to take part, it said.
 
Al-Zawahiri will then answer the questions "as much as he is able and at the soonest possible occasion".
It did not say whether the answers would be in writing or on video or audiotape.
 
Al-Zawahri, a former eye surgeon born in Egypt, is second-in-command to Osama Bin Laden.
 
Media presence
 
Al-Zawahiri has become more prominent in the media than his leader in recent months, releasing at least 16 videos this year in comparison to four from Bin Laden.
 
Last week al-Zawahiri released a video in which he said the British handover of security in Iraq's southern Basra province proved that fighters in Iraq are gaining the upper hand.

He also criticised the US-sponsored Middle East peace conference in a separate video earlier this month, calling it a "betrayal".
 
Al-Zawahiri and Bin Laden are both thought to be in hiding along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
 
The US, which has indicted him in relation to his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, is offering a $25 million reward for his capture.
Source: Al Jazeera
Related:
Al-Zawahiri: British 'fleeing' Iraq  
(17 Dec 2007)
Al-Zawahiri: Annapolis a 'betrayal'  
(15 Dec 2007)
Al-Qaeda deputy unveils Libya wing  
(03 Nov 2007)
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