Al Qaeda chief urges lone wolf attacks on West

Ayman Al Zawahri urged Muslim youth in the West to follow the examples of those who carried out the Boston marathon bombings and Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris.

CAIRO // Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahri called on young Muslim men in the United States and other western countries to carry out attacks wherever they are and urged greater unity between militants.

“I call on all Muslims who can harm the countries of the crusader coalition not to hesitate. We must now focus on moving the war to the heart of the homes and cities of the crusader West and specifically America,” he said in an audio recording posted online on Sunday, referring to nations making up the western-led coalition in Iraq and Syria.

He suggested Muslim youth in the West take the Tsarnaev and Kouachi brothers, who carried out the Boston marathon bombings and Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris respectively, and others as examples to follow.

It was not clear when the recording was made but references to former Taliban leader Mullah Mohamed Omar as being alive suggest it is at least two months old. Omar’s death was announced by Afghanistan’s government in late July.

Zawahri reiterated his position on ISIL, repeating what he said in a recording posted on Wednesday – that he viewed the group’s claim to be a caliphate as illegitimate but would join them in fighting western and secular forces in Iraq and Syria.

A former Egyptian doctor, Zawahri urged unity between militant factions in Syria and Iraq, where a western-led coalition is bombing ISIL targets, but recognised it would be difficult. He also called for the formation of an independent sharia court to settle disputes.

* Reuters