AL QAEDA INTO THE GAZA VACUUM, II

Al Qaida announces presence in the Gaza Strip
ABU DHABI — An announcement on an Al Qaida-aligned website said Osama Bin Laden has formed a military presence in Palestinian areas of the Gaza Strip. Israel plans to withdraw from the area by October 2005.

The announcement said Al Qaida has formed a group called "The Jihad Brigades in the Promised Land." The website, which has in the past posted announcements by Iraqi-based insurgency leader Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi, asserted that the group carried out mortar and rocket attacks against Israeli communities in the central Gaza Strip.

The Al Qaida group was said to have used a new rocket called Sajil. The posting did not detail the capabilities of the Sajil.