Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called on Muslims across the world to fight Americans in a video published by the terror organisation on the 17th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
In the 30-minute video, titled "How do we face America?," Zawahiri, who replaced Osama bin Laden at the head of the terrorist group after his assassination in 2011, portrayed the United States as a religious enemy of Muslims, using the relocation of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as one of the examples of said religious enmity.
The Washington-based Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Institute, which monitors media material created by militants across the world, released an English transcript of the message.
"Seventeen years have passed since [former US President George W.] Bush launched his crusader war against Muslims, a war linked with the historical enmity directed towards Islam from its dawn to this very day," he continued.
As he talked, he described his vision of the US' strategy against its enemies, saying Washington uses alliances to offset the costs of its wars and attempts to fragment its enemies with disinformation, among other tactics.
He concluded by describing Americans as "weak, humble beings like the rest of mankind" and urged Muslims to strike "on the enemy's turf”.
Zawahiri listed 14 directives to fight the United States, including an appeal for Muslim unity and for jihadists to close ranks.
Al-Qaeda, which lost the spotlight after the booming expansion of its top rival, the Islamic State, in 2014, took that time to reorganise itself and expand, experts say.
Daily Star
More about: Al-qaida
