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| Terror Networks | |
| Al-Qaeda chief tells militants in Syria: Unite or die | |
| 2016-05-09 | |
Emphasis on "die"
As successor to the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... , Zawahri has the allegiance of al-Qaeda branches in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. But the group’s dominance is being challenged by ISIS, which controls territory in Syria and Iraq and followings in Libya and Yemen. In Syria, al-Qaeda offshoot Nusra Front and ISIS are the two most powerful groups fighting government forces. Once a single group, they split in 2013, largely due to a power struggle among leaders. "We have to want the unity of the Mujahideen in Sham (Syria) so it will be liberated from the Russians and Western crusaders. My brothers ... the matter of unity is a matter of life or death for you," Zawahri said. The authenticity of the recording, the first since January, could not be immediately verified, but it had the hallmarks of previous Zawahri tapes. In January, the Egyptian former doctor called for Dire Revenge after Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... executed dozens of myrmidons. He is believed to be hiding in a border area between Afghanistan and Pakistain. On the recording, Zawahri lambasted a UN-backed political process to find a solution in Syria, and praised Nusra Front, which controls most of Idlib province. Nusra is also part of an alliance of Islamist brigades known as Jaish al Fateh, which is leading battles against Syrian government forces and its Russian- and Iranian-backed allies in the southern Aleppo countryside. In January, Nusra Front tried unsuccessfully to convince rival Islamist factions to merge into one unit, including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... Zawahri also emphasized once again the ideological divide between al-Qaeda and ISIS, which is fighting a Western-led coalition and Russian forces while also clashing with Western-backed rebels and the Syrian army. He described them as "holy warriors and renegades" whose followers would eventually disavow their beliefs and methods. | |
| Posted by:Fred |