Osama bin Laden Dead: Ayman al-Zawahiri the World's 'Number One Terrorist'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's National Security Adviser has declared Ayman al-Zawahiri to be the world's "number one terrorist" but said al-Qaeda's long standing deputy lacked Osama bin Laden's charismatic appeal.

One week after bin Laden's death and with no successor yet named, the assessment will heighten speculation that al-Qaeda is heading for a leadership battle.

Tom Donilon said: "Our assessment is that he is not anywhere near the leader that Osama bin Laden was." He also said there was no evidence yet to suggest that Pakistani authorities were aware that bin Laden had set up home only 30 miles from the capital Islamabad.

Al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian-born surgeon, is the man in line to take over, according to al-Qaeda's own rules of succession, but intelligence officials and analysts believe his abrasive style has made him unpopular with non-Egyptian ranks within the movement.

Other possible contenders in a succession battle include Abu Yahya al-Libi and Atiyah abd al-Rahman, two Libyans seen as rising stars.

Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric famous for his YouTube appeals to English-speaking converts from his base in Yemen, has also been mooted. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Al-Qaida rät Ägyptern zum Gottesstaat
WELT ONLINE: Al-Qaida bricht sein Schweigen zu den arabischen Revolutionen: Bin Ladens Stellvertreter rät Ägyptern in einer Tonbandnachricht zum islamistischen Gottesstaat.

Zum ersten Mal seit Beginn der Protestwelle in Nordafrika, hat sich die Führungsspitze des Terrornetzwerkes al-Qaida zu den politischen Unruhen zu Wort gemeldet. Die Medienabteilung "As-Sahab Media" der Terrororganisation veröffentlichte eine Tonbandbotschaft des Al-Qaida-Vize-Chefs Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. Die 35-minütige Aufnahme, die „Welt Online“ vorliegt, wurde auf einschlägigen Internetseiten veröffentlicht und gilt als authentisch. Sie trägt den Titel: "Botschaft der Hoffnung an das ägyptische Volk".Armin Mueller-Stahl erhält Ehrenbär für Lebenswerk[.]

Zawahiri erklärt in der Tonbandbotschaft, in Ägypten herrsche ein vom Islam abgewandtes, korruptes Regime. Einzig der islamische Staat sei eine bessere Alternative für die Ägypter. "Die ägyptische Regierung herrscht über ihr Volk mit unterdrückerischen Kräften und gefälschten Wahlen, korrupten Medien und ungerechten Gesetzen", so der ägyptische Terrorist. (+ Tonband) >>> Autor: Florian Flade | Samstag, 19. Februar 2011

Audio Purportedly from Al Qaeda No. 2 Says Victory Coming
CNN: A man identified as Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 man, promises his followers victory in Afghanistan and Iraq, vowing that these wars will eventually lead to a battle to liberate Jerusalem, in an audio message posted Monday on jihadist websites.

The audio was released by As-Sahab Media, al Qaeda's production company. CNN could not verify the authenticity of the message.

Radical Islamists often use the Arab-Israeli struggle as a propaganda tool to recruit militants because they believe that Israel has no right to exist on what they consider to be Muslim and Arab land.

In the message, the speaker also says mujahedeens -- Islamic militants backed by the Taliban and al Qaeda -- are moving from one victory to another in Afghanistan against U.S.-led forces.

The offensive in Afghanistan's Marjah district, known as Operation Moshtarak, was launched in February by an international coalition of 15,000 troops including Afghans, Americans, Britons, Canadians, Danes and Estonians.

The Taliban had set up a shadow government in Helmand province's Marjah region, long a bastion of pro-Taliban sentiment. It is a key area in Afghanistan's heroin trade, producing much of the opium used to fund the insurgency.

Less than three weeks ago, Gen. David Petraeus -- the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan -- said Operation Moshtarak is not going as well "as the most optimistic (initial) predictions." While progress is being made, it has been harder and slower than anticipated, Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing.

The audio message criticizes media coverage of the operation in Marjah, saying, "They made a big deal when they covered the Marjah battle ... but later on, they didn't want to report what was really happening on the ground, that the Mujahedeens were winning."

The speaker says the relationship between al Qaeda and the Taliban is stronger than ever -- an apparent reaction to reports that suggested the United States might be willing to deal with the Taliban if it distanced itself from al Qaeda. The message pledges al Qaeda's allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, calling him "the commander of the faithful." >>> CNN Wire Staff | Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Qaeda's Zawahiri Slams Musharraf as 'Enemy of Islam'
AFP: DUBAI — Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri slammed Pakistan's embattled President Pervez Musharraf as an enemy of Islam, in a first audio message in English posted online on Saturday.

In the message, excerpts of which were aired by Pakistan's ARY One television last week, Zawahiri also dismissed the Pakistani army as a "band of mercenaries" controlled by the US administration.

"Pervez (Musharraf) has proven himself to be one of the biggest enemies of Islam, if the not the biggest," Zawahiri said in the purported message, which was posted on a website usually used by Islamist militant groups.

He chided Musharraf for offering "all support to topple the Muslim emirate in Afghanistan," referring to the US-led war which defeated the Taliban regime in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

"Is the Pakistan Army an army defending Muslims, or merely a security service agency or a band of mercenaries which kills Muslims ... to please its masters, the neo-crusaders in the White House," he said, in an apparent attempt to incite Muslim Pakistanis against the army. Qaeda's Zawahiri Slams Musharraf as 'Enemy of Islam' >>> | August 16, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Pervez Musharraf Resigns as Pakistani President >>> By Jeremy Page and Zahid Hussain, in Islamabad | August 18, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

'Zawahiri Tape' Calls for Fortress Islam in Iraq
THE GUARDIAN: A message claiming to be from al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has called on Muslims to turn Iraq into the "fortress of Islam".

In the second such audio message in a month, the speaker said the battle for the establishment of a greater Islamic state was the "most important duty" of every Muslim.

The call to arms came in a 16-minute long audio file posted on the internet to mark the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The authenticity of the tape could not immediately be verified but the voice was said by experts to sound like Zawahiri.

In the speech entitled, Five years after the Invasion of Iraq and Decades of Injustice by the Tyrants, the speaker refers to US Iraqi commander General David Petraeus's recent testimony to the US Congress, and to a textile worker strike in Egypt on April 6.

The tape reportedly said: "We will only get our rights back with our own hands and not through beggary or fraudulent elections."

It called on Muslims to make Iraq a "fortress of Islam" and railed against Shia Iran for siding with the US against Iraq – a plot which he said would lead to an explosion of violence in the Middle East.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian-born surgeon thought to be in hiding in Pakistan or Afghanistan, regularly appears in video or audio clips. Earlier this month, he pulled off a propaganda coup for al-Qaida by answering questions from hundreds of people invited to take part in an online "open meeting".

In the internet Q&A he justified attacks against "crusaders", Jews, and their agents, predicted that "jihadi influence" will spread to Jerusalem after the US leaves Iraq and attacked the UN as "the enemy of Islam".

He also claimed that Bin Laden was "healthy and well". [Source: 'Zawahiri Tape' Calls for Fortress Islam in Iraq] By Anil Dawar and agencies | April 18, 2008

Al-Zawahiri Audio Tape HERE

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

The Jihad Should Strive to Liberate Any Land that Was Once Islamic!

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Ayman Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s Deputy Leader, Calls for Attacks on American and Israeli Interests
Photo of Ayman Zawahiri, the deputy leader of al-Qaeda, courtesy of the BBC
BBC: An audio message attributed to al-Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman Zawahiri, has called for attacks on American and Israeli interests.

The voice, not confirmed as Zawahiri's, urged retaliation for Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip.

The speaker said Muslims should support Palestinians by focusing on armed struggle, not just demonstrating.

The message was posted on an Islamist website and follows two audio speeches purportedly from Osama Bin Laden.

The graphic accompanying the audio carried the logo of al-Qaeda's media arm, al-Sahab. Al-Qaeda Deputy Calls for Attacks >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)