The US Government releases a video which it says proves that Osama Bin Laden masterminded the 11 September attacks. In the West, the tape is widely seen as strengthening the case against Bin Laden. In the Islamic world there is widespread scepticism and some claims that it is a fake.

Authorities in Indonesia acknowledge for the first time the ties between local Islamic groups and Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. Laskar Jihad, a Muslim militant group, is alleged to have received help from al-Qaeda members in waging jihad against Christians in eastern Indonesia, in the Moluccan Islands and in central Sulawesi. The group insists it is not linked to al-Qaeda. US officials discovered in August that al-Qaeda had obtained detailed plans of the US diplomatic compound in Jakarta.

President Bush signs legislation declaring 11 September a public holiday called Patriot Day.

Yemeni forces attack a village east of the capital Sana'a where suspected members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network may be hiding. They meet heavy resistance in al-Husoun in Marib province. More than 15 government soldiers were killed in the incident. Washington sends hundreds of troops to Yemen to train up the Yemeni security forces. US officials fear that al-Qaeda is in hiding and regrouping in the tribal regions of Yemen, where sympathisers are offering them refuge.

Qatar-based television station, al-Jazeera, releases a five-minute video of Bin Laden in which he refers to the 11 September attacks. The dating of the video seems to suggest that Bin Laden was alive in early December 2001.

At the end of December, US press reports say that the FBI is conducting more that 150 separate investigations into al-Qaeda related activities in the US. In some cases, the investigation may only be surveillance of people believed to be sympathetic to al-Qaeda, and few leads are expected to result in arrests or charges.