'We will attack everywhere'
2006-07-27 12:41
Cairo - Al-Qaeda's number two leader on Thursday warned that the terrorist group would not stand idly by while "these (Israeli) shells burn our brothers" in Lebanon and Gaza.
In a taped message broadcast by al-Jazeera television, Ayman al-Zawahri, second in command to Osama bin Laden, said al-Qaeda now saw "all the world as a battlefield open in front of us".
The Egyptian-born physician said the Hezbollah and Palestinian fighting against Israel would not be ended with "ceasefires or agreements".
'Jihad for God's sake'
"The war with Israel does not depend on ceasefires ... . It is a Jihad for God's sake and will last until (our) religion prevails...from Spain to Iraq," al-Zawahri said. "We will attack everywhere."
Al-Zawahri wore a gray robe and white turban. A picture of the burning World Trade Centre was on the wall behind him along with pictures of two other militants.
The Arab satellite broadcaster appeared not to have transmitted the entire tape, using instead selected quotes interspersed with commentary from an anchor.
"The shells and rockets ripping apart Muslim bodies in Gaza and Lebanon are not only Israeli (weapons), but are supplied by all the countries of the crusader coalition. Therefore, every participant in the crime will pay the price," al-Zawahri said.
- AP