In remarks purportedly made by Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) front man said bully boy groups should close ranks against Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
.
"We call for all jihadist leaders and soldiers and people to accelerate in joining the project of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," Adnani said.
The authenticity of the audio message and the identity of the speaker could not be independently verified.
Adnani cautioned against judging ISIL on the basis of "what the media portrays or through what our enemies say, such as false charges and lies, but by what you see and feel by yourselves."
His remarks come weeks after al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-
Zawahiri... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as
the real brains of the outfit.Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
ordered ISIL to shut down in Syria and instead anointed Al-Nusra Front, another group affiliated with al-Qaeda, to carry the network's banner in the Syrian conflict.
Zawahiri's November 8 demand confirmed a written order issued in June that has so far gone unheeded.
ISIL has instead defied Zawahiri's orders and continued to operate in Syria, where opposition activists have accused the group of escalating abuses against Syrian rebels and civilians.
When the Islamic State of Iraq originally announced it had become ISIL in April 2013, the group's chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said Al-Nusra Front was its branch in Syria.
But Al-Nusra commander Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani rejected that assertion and instead affirmed his allegiance to Zawahiri.