Al Qaeda’s deputy leader Ayman al Zawahri said his group would not stand by and watch Israel bombard Lebanon and the Palestinians, calling on Muslims in a video aired on Thursday to fight those who support the attacks. Zawahri, in the tape aired by Al Jazeera television, did not say how al Qaeda would respond but he linked the fighting in the Middle East to conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, countries where the militant group is battling Western forces.
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“How can we remain silent while watching bombs raining on our people,” he asked. “Oh Muslims everywhere, I call on you to fight and become martyrs in the war against the Zionists and the Crusaders,” Zawahri said in the statement which was entitled “The Zionist-crusader war on Lebanon and the Palestinians”.
Zawahri also lambasted “impotent, treacherous” Arab governments for their feeble response to the Israeli attacks.
Zawahri’s statement was the first comment by the Sunni Muslim-dominated al Qaeda against Israel’s war on Lebanon which was sparked by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Shi’ite Muslim guerrilla group Hizbollah. Israel is also waging an offensive in Gaza to free another soldier.
“There are 10,000 prisoners of war in Israel’s jails that nobody bothers about, but when it came to three Israeli soldiers, the whole world was turned upside down,” he said.
The al Qaeda deputy did not mention Hizbollah, but called on Muslims to wage jihad or holy war against all countries in the “crusader alliance” that support the Israeli bombardment. In previous statements, Zawahri and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have referred to Shi’ites as “infidels”. As they fight us everywhere, we will fight them everywhere; everyone who has joined in the crime must pay the price; we can’t stand by and monitor these rockets spewing their fire on the people of Lebanon and remain quiet," he said.
“The war with Israel is not based on any agreements or any border disputes … it is jihad for the sake of Allah, to free all of Palestine from occupation and to rid all the homes of Islam from the crusaders. The whole world is our battlefield.”
In the video, Zawahri appeared to be seated in a studio, with three photographs behind him, one showing the collapsing Twin Towers of New York, which al Qaeda targeted in September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Islamist Web sites say they will carry the full version of Zawahri’s statement soon.
More than 400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since Israel started bombing Lebanon after the capture of its soldiers on July 12. Fifty-one Israelis have also been killed. In Gaza, 142 Palestinians have lost their lives.](“http://javascript:commonPopup(‘/news/newsPhotoPresentation.aspx?type=topNews&imageID=2006-07-27T105301Z_01_L27607065_RTRUKOP_0_PICTURE0.xml’, 560, 535, 1)”)
Zawahri and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have referred to Shi'ites as "infidels".
This is news to me. Zarqawi had referred to Shias as infidels and Zawahiri had actually criticized Zarqawi for killing Shia civilians in Iraq. Can anyone here point to a source regarding this?
Captain…I am trying to get some relevant information on this site so that others can spend more time on their beloved GupShup, and do not have to search for information elsewhere.
hahah it's getting so damn hilarious that it's stopped being funny now.. why can't they just come out and say.. hey stupid americans.. we want you to do our dirty work for us.. Again!
Join the US Army - Die for Israel .. (while chasing the boogeymen du jour)
The sole superpower has been unable to defeat these Rats as you call them. So the Israelis must really be worried..These Rats may cause a black plague that might wipe out the Zionists.
:hehe:
:GS post of the day:
Recipe for Lebanese a la King
– One teaspoonful of potent AIPAC contribution
– Mix with CAMERA and WINEP manipulations and shake it hard
– Keep sauteeing until you have congressmen saying, “we are all israelis now,” and voting 100-0 in senate and 410-8 in the House pro israel.
– Add little bit of kerosene in Lebanon and some SMART bombs (courtesy of the IDF) and increase the heat a bit. Scatter some WP incendiary bombs on children for flavor.
– Meanwhile slice the palestinians and lebanese civilians in several pieces.
– If American people start condemning Israelli action as being a tad too disproportionate, dust off the old Zawahiri boogeyman, conflate the american and israeli war on terror as one.
– This will melt the american people and make them rally behind Israel.
– if the flavor gets too strong and the neighbors (international community) complain, proceed to flip the birdie.
–Keep roasting the lebanese civilians in the meantime in low heat and volia!!
–Serve cold. Leave the neighbors out. They are anti-semites.