23/01/2014 19:40
Al Qaeda: Rebels must unite
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has allegedly recorded a message telling militants fighting in Syria to unite, CNN reported.
The message, which runs more than five minutes long, was posted on militant websites. Its authenticity could not be independently verified by CNN.
In the message, al-Zawahiri calls upon all jihadi factions to stop infighting.
"Our hearts are bleeding, the heart of our Islamic nation is bleeding when we see the internal strife among the mujahedeen in Syria," he said.
"You are the hope of our Islamic nation in establishing an Islamic governance in the lands of Syria, the chosen land of jihad."
The words may provide verbal ammunition for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has long argued that his forces are fighting "terrorists" in the country's civil war.
But rebels say that al-Assad allowed al Qaeda to grow in Syria in order to defame the revolution.