Brief Messages to a Victorious Ummah | FDD's Long War Journal

As US relocates embassy to Jerusalem, al Qaeda leader condemns international system

Thomas Joscelyn | May 14, 2018

Al Qaeda has released a message from its leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, that is timed to coincide with the Trump administration’s relocation of the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Zawahiri notes that the decision caused a “big uproar,” but he reminds listeners that Tel Aviv is also supposedly Muslim land. He calls for jihad to uproot the entire international system led by the US and the UN.

Zawahiri says jihadists should prepare for guerrilla war in Iraq

Thomas Joscelyn | August 26, 2016

In the third episode of his “Brief Messages to a Victorious Ummah” series, Ayman al Zawahiri calls on “the mujahideen of the Levant” to help the jihadists in Iraq “reorganize themselves” for a “protracted” campaign of “guerrilla war.” Zawahiri clearly expects the Islamic State’s caliphate claim to be rendered moot and he wants jihadists to follow a new strategy in Iraq going forward.