NATO calls al Qaeda attack video 'fiction'

February 24, 2007

Afghanistan - A NATO official in Afghanistan on Saturday called the purported al Qaeda video showing fighters firing missiles at a U.S. base in Afghanistan a piece of "video fiction."

A NATO official in Afghanistan on Saturday called the purported al Qaeda video showing fighters firing missiles at a U.S. base in Afghanistan a piece of video fiction.

Col. Tom Collins, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, said the military doesn't "see this as a credible video, as there is nothing to substantiate an attack on friendly forces."

He said that "once again the extremists have resorted to melding video together to create an impression of strength, but really it is one of weakness. The fact that they continue to pump out video fiction shows again that they will say and do anything to sell their immoral cause."

The 56-second video showed the fighters firing from a wooded hillside but did not show the base. It was not clear if the fighters were al Qaeda or Taliban.

According to a subtitle on the video, it was shot on Nov. 28, 2006, in Afghanistan's al-Wara region. The video was posted on a Web site where similar videos have been posted in the past.