Al-Qaida leader calls on Muslims to strike US, Israeli interests

Associated Press Posted: Mar 24, 2008 at 0903 hrs
Cairo, March 24: Al-Qaida deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri is calling on Muslims to strike Israeli and American interests to avenge Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this month.

Al-Zawahri has made the call in a new, 4-minute audiotape posted on an Islamic militant Web site on Monday. In it, he accuses Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of helping Israel in its offensive by sealing off the border between Egypt and Gaza.

He calls on Muslims to "strike the interests of the Jews, the Americans, and all of those who participated in the attack on the Muslims," and says attacks should not be limited to areas in Israel or the Palestinian territories.