Cairo: Al Qaeda's new leader says Osama bin Laden spent all his personal wealth on jihad, including preparations for the attacks of Sept 11, 2001, and the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
Ayman al-Zawahri, in the second of his "Days with the Imam" series of videos posted on a jihadist forum late Saturday, says bin Laden spent USD 50,000 on the embassy attacks at a time when he only had USD 55,000 to his name.
The militant leader in his 32-minute video said bin Laden lived an ascetic life, and was stingy about spending on any matter unrelated to jihad or generosity to his guests.
Al-Zawahri said bin Laden invested in a whole herd of sheep to slaughter for visitors, while himself living mostly on bread and vegetables.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, June 03, 2012, 19:26