Al Qaeda issues currency notes with images of Osama bin Laden

BAGHDAD –

A group tied to al Qadea in Iraq’s Anbar province has started issuing notes with the images of Osama bin Laden and of the WorldTradeCenter towers.

The bills come from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and are stamped with the valuation of “one Islamic Hundred pounds.” But a local official said that anyone caught with the currency would be seen as a member of the ISIL.

The official said the money is not being honored in Anbar, a US news agency reported.

“The 100-guinea note bore the likeness of former al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on one side, and the two World Trade Center towers attacked by the group on September 11, 2001, on the other,” a published statement said.

Fars News Agency reported the bills are being touted as the “ISIL dinar.”

The tribal head, who leads the Anbar Salvation Council, said the currency proves the existence of ISIL in Anbar, where members have been engaging in clashes with the Iraqi military for months.