WASHINGTON — In a video released Sunday by al-Qaida, American hostage Warren Weinstein (pictured) said he will be killed unless President Barack Obama agrees to the militant group’s demands.
Weinstein was abducted last August in Lahore, Pakistan, after gunmen tricked his guards and broke into his home. The 70-year-old from Rockville, Md., is the country director in Pakistan for J.E. Austin Associates, a Virginia-based firm that advises a range of Pakistani business and government sectors.
In a video message posted on militant websites in December, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri said Weinstein would be released if the United States stopped airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded the release of all al-Qaida and Taliban suspects around the world.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant messages, said Al-Sahab, al-Qaida’s media arm, posted the Weinstein video on jihadist forums Sunday.
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