(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Twenty Egyptian Salafists have issued a statement calling upon Sunnis to launch attacks in Shiite-led countries in response to the Assad regime's offensive in Qusayr, a city in western Syria near Homs. The chief signatory on the statement is Mohammed al Zawahiri, the younger brother of al Qaeda head Ayman al Zawahiri.
The statement was released on May 25 by Al Faroq Media, an Egyptian jihadist propaganda outfit that is openly pro-al Qaeda and regularly publishes the younger Zawahiri's messages and videos.
"We call upon the Sunnis in general in the countries that are ruled by the Shiites, and the mujahideen in particular, to target these countries and move the battle inside them, in order for them to know that their punishment is painful and they are a united group that supports each other and no one disowns the actions of anyone else," the statement reads, according to a translation prepared by the SITE Intelligence Group.
In their statement, Mohammed al Zawahiri and his Egyptian compatriots claim that Hezbollah must be confronted because of their actions in Qusayr. "Hezbollah and all who participated in the attack on Qusayr and other Muslim countries must be fought," the statement reads, according to SITE. But the extremist al Zawahiri did not say anything about that more than thousands of fighters mostly from over 25 European countries are fighting in Qusayr against Basshar Assad.
He falsely claimed: "Iran and Hezbollah seek to divide the region into mini-states that follow their brand of Shiism", adding that the Shiites have a "deep hatred for our Sunni people everywhere that is no longer a secret, and their ritual killing of Sunnis, and Iraq is not far from us." But he did not say that most of the victims in Iraq and Pakistan are from innocent Shiites who are killed by Salafi insurgents as al Qaeda and Taliban which founded by Saudi and Egyptian Salafists.
In addition to calling for attacks against Shiite governments, including Iran, Zawahiri and his ilk call upon all Sunnis to wage jihad in support of the mujahideen in Syria.
Sunnis "everywhere" must "deploy, whether you are light or heavy, to support and assist our people in the Levant in order to deter the aggression from them," the statement reads. "There is no excuse for anyone" to avoid jihad, it continues.
Mohammed al Zawahiri and the other Egyptians also call on "jihadi groups in the Levant that are based on the correct and clear creed" to "unite and remove differences and disputes among each other ... so that others who are not qualified will not pick the fruit of their jihad."
Mohammed al Zawahiri served under his brother as a top Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) commander in the 1990s. The younger Zawahiri routinely expresses his admiration for al Qaeda's leaders and defends the organization against ideological attacks. Other signatories on the statement include Murjan Salem, another former EIJ official, and Dawoud Khairat, an extremist who has spoken at Ansar al Sharia events in Egypt alongside Mohammed al Zawahiri. Khairat's Facebook page frequently includes posts praising al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
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The statement was released on May 25 by Al Faroq Media, an Egyptian jihadist propaganda outfit that is openly pro-al Qaeda and regularly publishes the younger Zawahiri's messages and videos.
"We call upon the Sunnis in general in the countries that are ruled by the Shiites, and the mujahideen in particular, to target these countries and move the battle inside them, in order for them to know that their punishment is painful and they are a united group that supports each other and no one disowns the actions of anyone else," the statement reads, according to a translation prepared by the SITE Intelligence Group.
In their statement, Mohammed al Zawahiri and his Egyptian compatriots claim that Hezbollah must be confronted because of their actions in Qusayr. "Hezbollah and all who participated in the attack on Qusayr and other Muslim countries must be fought," the statement reads, according to SITE. But the extremist al Zawahiri did not say anything about that more than thousands of fighters mostly from over 25 European countries are fighting in Qusayr against Basshar Assad.
He falsely claimed: "Iran and Hezbollah seek to divide the region into mini-states that follow their brand of Shiism", adding that the Shiites have a "deep hatred for our Sunni people everywhere that is no longer a secret, and their ritual killing of Sunnis, and Iraq is not far from us." But he did not say that most of the victims in Iraq and Pakistan are from innocent Shiites who are killed by Salafi insurgents as al Qaeda and Taliban which founded by Saudi and Egyptian Salafists.
In addition to calling for attacks against Shiite governments, including Iran, Zawahiri and his ilk call upon all Sunnis to wage jihad in support of the mujahideen in Syria.
Sunnis "everywhere" must "deploy, whether you are light or heavy, to support and assist our people in the Levant in order to deter the aggression from them," the statement reads. "There is no excuse for anyone" to avoid jihad, it continues.
Mohammed al Zawahiri and the other Egyptians also call on "jihadi groups in the Levant that are based on the correct and clear creed" to "unite and remove differences and disputes among each other ... so that others who are not qualified will not pick the fruit of their jihad."
Mohammed al Zawahiri served under his brother as a top Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) commander in the 1990s. The younger Zawahiri routinely expresses his admiration for al Qaeda's leaders and defends the organization against ideological attacks. Other signatories on the statement include Murjan Salem, another former EIJ official, and Dawoud Khairat, an extremist who has spoken at Ansar al Sharia events in Egypt alongside Mohammed al Zawahiri. Khairat's Facebook page frequently includes posts praising al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
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