Will not let Israel take over Jerusalem: Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri

Washington – Ayman al Zawahiri, the chief of al-Qaeda, has warned Jerusalem will not be allowed to be taken over by Israel. The United States and Pakistan have earlier claimed that al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri was not alive. But al-Qaeda released a new video of Zawahiri disproving US and Pakistani claims. Military officials have warned that al-Qaeda will re-emerge in Afghanistan under the Taliban. In such a situation, Zawahiri has come to the fore through this video.

The death of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took the reins of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden, due to illness, was reported in the US and Pakistani media last year. This led to claims that al-Qaeda was finished. But on Saturday, marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, al-Qaeda released a new video of Zawahiri.

In the nearly hour-long video, Zawahiri has threatened Israel. Zawahiri has said that Israel’s claim to Jerusalem is not acceptable. Zawahiri also targeted Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab allies, cooperating with the United States and Israel as ‘Jewish Arab countries.’

Claims are being made that al-Qaeda has released an old video of Zawahiri to mark the completion of two decades after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The media has also pointed out that Zawahiri did not mention the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in the entire video is significant.

But in the video, Zawahiri mentions al-Qaeda’s attack on a Russian military base in Syria in January, which military analysts say is significant. This shows that Zawahiri is still alive, analysts say.