DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims tokidnap Westerners, particularly Americans, who could then be exchanged forjailed jihadists including a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 ofconspiring to attack the United Nations and other New York landmarks.
In a wide ranging audio interview, the al Qaeda leader expressed solidaritywith the Muslim Brotherhood which is facing a violent crackdown by thearmy-backed government in Egypt and urged unity among rebels in their fightagainst Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the Zawahiri tape, but thevoice resembled that of the al Qaeda leader.
"I ask Allah the Glorious to help us set free Dr. Omar Abdel-Rahman and therest of the captive Muslims, and I ask Allah to help us capture from amongthe Americans and the Westerners to enable us to exchange them for ourcaptives," said Zawahiri, according to the SITE website monitoring service."
"Abdel-Rahman is serving a life term in the United States for a 1993 attackon New York's World Trade Center."
FYI: the ransoms paid for kidnaped Westerners is also a major source of
funds for Al Qaeda affiliates these days.
By Epictetus
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