Security
Terrorism: Al-Qaeda no. 2 slams Pakistan's 'Crusader ' army
Islamabad, 14 October (AKI) - Pakistan's army has become a "Crusader" tool to save United States and NATO troops from certain defeat in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, claimed in a new video posted to Muslim extremist websites.
"At this moment Pakistani forces are playing the central role in this crusade that has been imposed on Islam and Muslims," al-Zawahiri said in the 26-minute video which appeared late on Tuesday.
And this [Pakistan Army] has completely become a tool for the crusaders against its own public, neighbouring countries and the Islamic world," he added.
In message, believed to have been recorded some time between 23 July 23 and 21 August, al-Zawahiri's voice has been dubbed in Urdu, the most widely spoken language in Pakistan. The credits at the start and end of the video are also in Urdu.
The message came only three days after a siege in the northeastern garrison town of Rawalpindi by 10 members of the Pakistani Taliban with suspected Al-Qaeda links left 23 dead, among them a lieutenant colonel, a brigadier, nine other soldiers and nine attackers.
Militant attacks have intensified as the army prepares to launch a ground offensive in their lawless South Waziristan tribal area stronghold. Over 40 people were killed in a suicide bombing on Monday in the northwest after last weekend's brazen raid on the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Commenting on the military offensive in South Waziristan which the Pakistan army says is imminent, al-Zawahiri said: "The only objective of this plan is to save American and allied forces from the humiliation of defeat in Afghanistan."
He claimed that Pakistan's army chief General Ishfaq Parvez Kayani went to Brussels to gain approval for military action in Waziristan, which had already been agreed upon in Washington.
"These puppets of the Crusaders, these Pakistani forces, have named this operation 'Path to Deliverance,' but by the grace of God it will cause death and destruction for them," he warned.
As he spoke, he pointed at a map of Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan on a wall behind him.
He blamed "secular" Pakistani rulers and the "apostate" military for carrying out "false propaganda" against militants.
Al-Zawahiri urged Pakistan's Muslims to support Jihad with their lives, property, and information.
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban's ongoing campaign of bloody attacks against civilian and military targets has however eroded their support among Pakistan's 160 million people.
"At this moment Pakistani forces are playing the central role in this crusade that has been imposed on Islam and Muslims," al-Zawahiri said in the 26-minute video which appeared late on Tuesday.
And this [Pakistan Army] has completely become a tool for the crusaders against its own public, neighbouring countries and the Islamic world," he added.
In message, believed to have been recorded some time between 23 July 23 and 21 August, al-Zawahiri's voice has been dubbed in Urdu, the most widely spoken language in Pakistan. The credits at the start and end of the video are also in Urdu.
The message came only three days after a siege in the northeastern garrison town of Rawalpindi by 10 members of the Pakistani Taliban with suspected Al-Qaeda links left 23 dead, among them a lieutenant colonel, a brigadier, nine other soldiers and nine attackers.
Militant attacks have intensified as the army prepares to launch a ground offensive in their lawless South Waziristan tribal area stronghold. Over 40 people were killed in a suicide bombing on Monday in the northwest after last weekend's brazen raid on the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Commenting on the military offensive in South Waziristan which the Pakistan army says is imminent, al-Zawahiri said: "The only objective of this plan is to save American and allied forces from the humiliation of defeat in Afghanistan."
He claimed that Pakistan's army chief General Ishfaq Parvez Kayani went to Brussels to gain approval for military action in Waziristan, which had already been agreed upon in Washington.
"These puppets of the Crusaders, these Pakistani forces, have named this operation 'Path to Deliverance,' but by the grace of God it will cause death and destruction for them," he warned.
As he spoke, he pointed at a map of Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan on a wall behind him.
He blamed "secular" Pakistani rulers and the "apostate" military for carrying out "false propaganda" against militants.
Al-Zawahiri urged Pakistan's Muslims to support Jihad with their lives, property, and information.
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban's ongoing campaign of bloody attacks against civilian and military targets has however eroded their support among Pakistan's 160 million people.
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