Al Qaeda leader releases new message claiming US plotted to oust Morsi in Egpyt
- The message began showing up on jihadist websites on the same day the U.S. government issued a global terrorism alert
- Al-Zawahiri urges Muslims to unite and fight the West
- The terrorism alert was issued because U.S. intelligence officers intercepted communications between al Qaeda operatives organizing an attack on U.S. targets in the Middle East
On the same day that the U.S. Department of State issued a global terrorism warning, a message suspected to be from al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was posted on multiple jihadist web forums on Friday.
In the 14-minute audio message, the 62-year-old al-Zawahiri criticizes the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood-backed former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, blaming the military coup that resulted in his removal on Americans and 'Zionists.'
The crusaders, the seculars, the Americanized army, (former Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak's thugs and some members of Islamic parties with the support of Gulf money and American plotting, all agreed to topple Mohamed Morsy's government,' he said in the recording.
Terrorist: Ayman al Zawahiri is urging all Muslims to unite and fight against the West
It's believed that this is the second recording al-Zawahiri has released in the last week.
CNN, which has listened to the message, has been unable to verify its authenticity. However, the network notes that 'the language used in the last posting resembles that in other messages attributed to al-Zawahiri in which he criticizes the treatment from various parties of Morsy, the former Muslim Brotherhood leader who last year became Egypt's first democratically elected president.'
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The terrorist leader goes on to say that those behind Morsi's ouster want a 'secular, pro-American president to rule Egypt so they can continue with their plotting -- along with the Americans and Zionists -- to divide Egypt, just like what happened in Sudan.'
Ousted: former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was removed from power last month
Protests: Thousands of Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo to protest Morsi's ouster
Al-Zawahiri is part of a distinguished Egyptian family who worked as a surgeon with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad when it tried to overthrow President Anwar Sadat. Following Sadat's 1981 assasination, al-Zawahiri was convicted of weapons charges,
In 1980, al-Zawahiri met Osama bin Laden and roughly 10 years later merged the Egyptian Islamic Jihad with bin Laden's al Qaeda.
In the other message released this week - believed to have been recorded on June 5 - al-Zawahiri slammed the U.S. for its treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison who had gone on hunger strike. Additionally, he urged Muslims to unite and fight.
Earlier Friday, the State Department issued what the Associated Press referred to as an 'extraordinary global travel warning' following an apparent terrorist threat.
Peace: Former Israeli President Shimon Peres (L) and former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attend a press conference in July 2009
The New York Times reports that the alert was issued after U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communication between al Qaeda members discussing plans to launch attacks on U.S. targets in the Middle East.
'This was a lot more than the usual chatter,' one senior American official who had been briefed on the information told the paper.
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