Al-Qaeda leader urges unity among Syrian jihadis

BEIRUT — The leader of al-Qaeda has urged jihadis in Syria to unite, an appeal likely aimed at rival affiliates of his terror network fighting there to oust President Bashar Assad.

Ayman al-Zawahiri said fighters must “rise above organizational loyalties and party partisanship” and unite behind the goal of setting up an Islamic state.

Al-Zawaihri also urged Syrian regime opponents not cut deals with Western-backed and secular groups. Islamist rebels have battled with secular and Kurdish rebel groups over Syria’s border crossings with Turkey for several weeks, leaving dozens dead.

However, he suggests he will not impose unity, saying in an audio message Friday that “what you agree upon will also be our choice.”

Two al-Qaeda-linked groups have emerged in Syria’s civil war — Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. The first is commanded by a Syrian, the second by an Iraqi, but both are loyal to al-Zawahiri.

In the 17-minute video clip, the al-Qaeda leader also called on Egyptian Islamists to work together under the banner of Islam in order to rid the country of military rule. Zawahiri railed against the Egyptian military, calling its leader “the Americanized butcher of the military coup” and accusing it of waging a war against Islam.

He said the “secular military” has colluded with the United States, Israel, secular movements and Christians against Islam. Al Zawahiri also accused Egypt’s secularists of cooperating with the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

“Here is the tragedy in Egypt unfolding before your eyes, showing the extent the hatred of the seculars, the US agents, have for Muslims and Islamist groups,” Al Zawahiri said. “The secular military and its allies, the enemies of Islam, what to eradicate anyone who raises the banner of Islam.”

In a jab at Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, Al Zawahri criticised Islamists who “compromised” with secular groups in Egypt and Tunisia, only to end up being persecuted by them. He said the anti-Islam alliance doesn’t distinguish between Islamists who wage holy war or those who seek power through democratic means.

“They held on to secularism, fought for it, turning against the so-called democracy idol they asked Muslims to submit to in place of the rule of Sharia,” he said.

Al Zawahiri urged Islamists to unite and wage a “popular” religious uprising “to rid Egypt of this criminal gang that jumped over power with fire and iron”.

The recording was produced by the media arm of the group which issues Al Zawahiri’s messages. This is Al Zawahiri’s second message about Egypt since August.