Ayman al-Zawahri has taken command of al-Qaeda after the May killing of Osama bin Laden, an Islamist web site said on Thursday.
Long known as bin Laden's lieutenant and the brains behind many of al-Qaeda's operations, Egyptian-born Zawahri vowed earlier this month to press ahead with al-Qaeda's campaign against the United States and its allies.
'The general leadership of al-Qaeda group, after the completion of consultation, announces that Sheikh Dr. Ayman Zawahri, may God give him success, has assumed responsibility for command of the group,' the Islamist web site Ansar al-Mujahideen (Followers of the Holy Warriors) said in a statement.
The bespectacled Zawahri had been seen as bin Laden's most likely successor after the man held responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington was shot dead by US commandos in Pakistan 45 days ago.
His whereabouts are unknown, although he has long been thought to be hiding along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The United States is offering a $25 million reward for any information leading to his capture or conviction.
Believed to be in his late 50s, Zawahri met bin Laden in the mid-1980s when both were in Pakistan to support guerrillas fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. Born to an upper-class Cairo family, Zawahri trained as a doctor and surgeon.
'A worthy successor to a great predecessor. We ask God to grant you and your soldiers success for the victory of Islam and Muslims and to raise the banner of religion,' a contributor to another Islamist militant website, As-Ansar, said in a posting.
In a video message posted on the internet on June 8, Zawahri said al-Qaeda would continue to fight.
'The Sheikh (bin Laden) has departed, may God have mercy on him, to his God as a martyr, and we must continue on his path of jihad to expel the invaders from the land of Muslims and to purify it from injustice,' Zawahri said.
'Today, and thanks be to God, America is not facing an individual or a group ... but a rebelling nation which has awoken from its sleep in a jihadist renaissance challenging it wherever it is.'
Believed to be in his late 50s, Zawahri met bin Laden in the mid-1980s when both were in Pakistan to support guerrillas fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. Born to an upper-class Cairo family, Zawahri trained as a doctor and surgeon.
In a video message posted on the internet on June 8, Zawahri said al-Qaeda would continue to fight. He called this year's Arab uprisings a disaster for Washington because, he said, they would remove Arab leaders who were the 'agents of America.'
He also pledged allegiance to the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Omar, calling him 'Emir of the Believers.'
Among some Egyptians there was disdain at the news.
Karim Sabet, 34, a director of an oil and gas start-up firm, said he was not surprised by the announcement.
'He's been the loyal No. 2 forever. Zawahri seems even more of a madman than Osama was, and he'll want to prove himself by going on the attack soon. Another devil killing in the name of Islam. Disgusting.'
source:NewAge
No comments:
Post a Comment