Al-Qaeda says US colluded with Egypt in coup
Spokesman urges Muslims around the world to fight the United States
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CAIRO — Al-Qaeda’s American spokesman has accused the United States of colluding with military leaders in Egypt to topple the democratically-elected president last summer, saying the US supports the Egyptian army because it “protects the borders of the Jewish state.”
In a video posted on militant websites on Friday, Adam Gadahn, a former Osama bin Laden spokesman, also criticized Egypt’s current rulers, saying the regime has been unchanged for 60 years.
He described the army-backed overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July as a “bloody secular and fascist coup.”
He also urged Muslims around the world to fight the United States to diminish its power and influence so they can choose their own governments.
Gadahn uses the name “Azzam the American.”
On Saturday an Egyptian criminal court sentenced 102 defendants it describes as Muslim Brotherhood supporters to 10 years in prison each on charges of violent rioting in a Cairo neighborhood and possession of weapons.
Egypt’s state news agency said the Saturday ruling puts the defendants under police surveillance for a period of five years after the end of their prison sentences. Two other defendants were jailed for seven years in the case.
The ruling is linked to demonstrations staged to protest the overthrow of Morsi by the military in July. Morsi’s ouster followed days of mass demonstrations demanding his resignation.
The prosecutors charged the defendants with gathering illegally with intent to inflict material and moral harm to others and public property, which led to one death.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
The Times of Israel Community.