Qaeda's Zawahri Calls for Pakistani “Jihad”

Al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman Zawahiri called on Pakistanis to support jihadists in the country's tribal areas on Friday, saying it was "the" battle against the American "crusaders," US-based SITE Intelligence group reported

Ayman al-Zawahri’s comments were delivered in a video called "Path of Doom" posted on jihadist websites and monitored by SITE, a private group that follows jihadist activities on the Internet.

"The war in the tribal areas and Swat is an inseparable part of the Crusaders' assault on the Muslims the length and breadth of the Islamic world," Zawahiri was quoted as saying.

"This is the battle, briefly and plainly; and this is why anyone who supports the Americans and Pakistan Army—under any pretext, ploy or lie—is in fact standing with, backing and supporting the Crusaders against Islam and Muslims," he said.

He argued that the U.S. military was using the Pakistani army as its proxy in the tribal areas and Swat as a means to defeat the insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan.

The war in the tribal areas and Swat is an inseparable part of the Crusaders' assault on the Muslims the length and breadth of the Islamic world

Ayman al-Zawahri

Fighting in Swat

The tape from Zawahri, the second this month, comes after Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a U.S. missile strike on Aug. 5.

It also comes after Pakistan's army went on the offensive in late April against an insurgency by Qaeda allies, the Taliban, in Swat valley after the group took over the district 120 kilometers (80 miles) from Islamabad, raising fears for Pakistan's stability and the safety of its nuclear weapons.

Pakistan has been hit by a series of suicide bomb attacks over the past two years, launched by Qaeda-linked individuals fighting the government because of its support for the U.S.-led campaign against violent extremists.

Security forces have cleared most Taliban fighters from the Swat valley and have also been attacking Mehsud's men in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border.

The Taliban had been denying Mehsud's death for weeks, but on Monday two of his aides, Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman, confirmed their leader had been killed.

Some Afghan Taliban factions, which have bases in lawless Pashtun lands on the Pakistani side of the border, have argued against attacks in Pakistan, saying all fighters should concentrate on expelling Western forces from Afghanistan.

Western governments with forces in Afghanistan are watching to see if a new Pakistani Taliban leader would shift the focus from fighting the Pakistan government to supporting the Afghan insurgency.

Hakimullah, who led Taliban fighters in the Khyber, Orakzai and Kurram ethnic Pashtun tribal regions, has been picked as the new overall commander of the Pakistani Taliban.

"This is the battle, briefly and plainly; and this is why anyone who supports the Americans and Pakistan Army—under any pretext, ploy or lie—is in fact standing with, backing and supporting the Crusaders against Islam and Muslims

Ayman al-Zawahri