Militants vow Osama death will not mute Jihad call

Members of militant forums vowed on Monday to avenge the US killing of Osama bin Laden, while others prayed the news was not true. President Barack Obama announced US forces had killed bin Laden in a raid on his hideout in Pakistan after a nearly 10-year hunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. "Oh God, please make this news not true... God curse you Obama," said one message on an Arabic language forum. "Oh Americans... it is still legal for us to cut your necks."
Some forums members urged others not to believe news of the death until it was confirmed online by militant news sources. "The source of news that we trust is that which comes from the mujahideen (holy warrior)," a message on Ansar forum said. "Be patient and don't spread rumours...we've asked this repeatedly, so please do not write anything on the subject."
Hours later, several of the threads discussing bin Laden's death had been shutdown. But 'Asad al-Jihad 2', labeled a "prominent member of the jihadist internet community" by the monitoring group SITE, acknowledged the leader's death and vowed revenge.
"The whole world hangs on the death of one man, and if all his enemies were killed their effect would not be the same as his," SITE quoted him as saying on the Shumukh al-Islam forum. "We will take our revenge on behalf of the Islamic Ummah for the death of the Sheikh of Islam ... Whoever wishes this to be the end of jihad or a means to weaken the organisation, I say to him: Wait a little!"
MESSAGE OF JIHAD Bin Laden's killing, in a compound outside the Pakistani city of Islamabad, dealt a symbolic blow to the global militant network, although Islamist forum posters said the strike would not change their commitment to fighting Western powers. "Osama may be killed but his message of Jihad will never die. Brothers and sisters, wait and see, his death will be a blessing in disguise," said a poster on another Islamist forum. Another forum member pointed to the irony of bin Laden's location, contrasting with long-time rumours that he was hiding in caves. "So after 10 years of hiding in mountains, he ends up getting killed in a mansion outside of Islamabad. Interesting."