Ayman al-Zawahiri, second in the hierarchy of al-Qaeda, pledged to continue the path of Jihad (holy war) against the West, drawn by Osama bin Laden, in a video message posted online Wednesday.
“We must continue on the path of Jihad to expel the invaders from the territory of Islam,” Zawahiri said in the address “Islamic nation” in an eulogy for the founder of al-Qaeda network.
Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, in Pakistan, by an U.S. Special Forces commando. This is the first Zawahiri’s video message made after the death of bin Laden. Al-Qaida has not yet designated bin Laden’s successor. Egyptian Zawahiri is now the main leader of the organization and the most wanted man in the world.
Bringing a posthumous tribute to Osama bin Laden, “a pioneer of Jihad against the communists, then against the crusaders”, he points out that the founder of al-Qaeda “terrified America during his lifetime as he continues to terrify it after his death; they (the Americans) are afraid to put him in a grave, throwing his corpse into the sea”.
“Sheikh Osama bin Laden will always be a source of fear and apprehension for the United States and Israel, allied crusaders and their corrupt agents”, he said, recalling bin Laden’s sermon: Westerners will never be safe as long as we will not leave our territories.
“Ayman al-Zawahiri urged “all the mujahideen in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic Maghreb” to “redouble their efforts in the Jihad against the crusaders and their agents”. He encouraged the Pakistanis “to rebel against their mercenary soldiers (…) and corrupt political leaders who have transformed Pakistan into a U.S. colony.
“Welcoming the popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen, he assured the young protesters in these countries of the al-Qaeda support. “We’ll carry on with you the same struggle against the United States and their agents”, he said, while the extremist network influence in the Arab spring was marginal.
He also called on Syria to “continue the struggle and Jihad against corrupt and criminal regime” of President Bashar al-Assad. Ayman al-Zawahiri warned the Yemeni people that require departure of President Ali Abdallah Saleh on “political maneuvering” of mediators in the Gulf, trying to prevent the revolution. “Continue your sacrifices and revolt to establish a regime (…) that will apply the Sharia (Islamic law)”, he added.