A statement bearing Al-Qaida’s name warned tonight that Western airlines will be the terror group’s priority target in the near future

It was, of course, al-Qaida that launched the September 11 attacks on the US by hijacking three airliners. The statement appeared on an Islamist Web site known for carrying messages from militants, including the video in which a terror group with al-Qaida links executed the American kidnapped in Iraq, Nick Berg. The statement’s authenticity could not be immediately verified, but it was signed ‘Al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula.’ The statement referred repeatedly to “crusaders” – militant jargon for Westerners. It warned “all that is affiliated with these crusaders – from compounds, bases and means of transport, especially Western and American airlines – will be the direct targets of our next operations in the path of holy war which, with God’s help, we will not be diverted from, especially in the near future.” The statement begins by warning all Muslims to avoid ”contact with the American and Western crusaders and all non-believers in the Arabian peninsula.” It urges Muslims to ignore Americans and Westerners “in their homes, compounds, movements and means of transport – in all shapes and forms.” The statement says the purpose of this warning is to spare ”our Muslim brothers’ blood.”