Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahiri criticized Muslims for failing to support Islamist insurgencies in Iraq and elsewhere in a new audiotape posted yesterday on the Internet.
Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenant also blasted Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas over their reported readiness to consider a peace deal with Israel.
“I call upon the Muslim nation to fear Allah’s question [at judgement day] about its failure to support its brothers of the mujahidin [holy warriors], and [urge it] not to withhold men and money, which is the mainstay of a war,” he said.
He also used the two-and-a-half hour message to urge Muslims to join militant groups, mainly in Iraq, where he claimed that the insurgency against the Iraqi government and the US-led coalition forces is bearing fruit.
“I urge all Muslims to hurry to the battlefields of jihad, especially in Iraq,” Zawahiri said in the message, the second in a two-part series to answer about 100 questions put to him via online militant forums.
“The situation in Iraq heralds an imminent victory of Islam and the defeat of the crusaders and those who stand under their flag,” he said.
Turning his ire on Hamas, he said the Palestinian group’s reported willingness to hold a referendum on any peace deal with Israel flew in the face of Shariah, or Islamic law.
“How can they put a matter that violates Shariah to a referendum?” he asked.
Former US president Jimmy Carter said on Monday that Hamas told him it would recognize Israel’s right to live in peace if a deal is reached and approved by a Palestinian vote.
Hamas exiled chief Khaled Meshaal later told a press conference in Damascus that Hamas would not recognize the Jewish state and would insist on the right of some 4.5 million Palestinian refugees to return to Israel.
Meshaal ruled out any direct talks with Israel but said Hamas was ready to hold discussions with US officials.
He said Hamas would recognize a peace deal negotiated by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on condition that it was subject to a referendum.
In his message, Zawahiri also called on the various jihadist groups operating in the country to unite behind the “more advanced” al-Qaeda-backed “Islamic State of Iraq.”
In the first part of the message released last Friday, Zawahiri commemorated the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq with a call to Muslims to make Iraq a “fortress of Islam.”
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
RSS