Al-Qaeda leader urges jihadis in Syria to unite

PanARMENIAN.Net - The leader of al-Qaeda has urged jihadis in Syria to unite.

According to the Associated Press, Ayman al-Zawahri said fighters must "rise above organizational loyalties and party partisanship" and unite behind the goal of setting up an Islamic state.

However, he suggested he will not impose unity, saying in an audio message Friday, Oct 11, that "what you agree upon will also be our choice."

Two al-Qaeda-linked groups have emerged in Syria's civil war — Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. The first is commanded by a Syrian, the second by an Iraqi, but both are loyal to al-Zawahri.

Al-Zawahri also urged Syrian regime opponents not cut deals with Westerns and secular groups.

Earlier, an al-Qaeda spokesman accused Western-backed rebels fighting to topple the Syrian government of "stealing" credit for battlefield victories from his group.

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, a spokesman for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, said commanders of the Free Syrian Army are claiming territorial gains made by al-Qaeda fighters.

In an audio message posted on a militant website, al-Adnani cited the August capture of the Mannagah air base in northern Syria as an example. He said some FSA fighters took part in the battle for the base and an FSA commander took credit for it, but it was actually captured by al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda militants have in the past year emerged as some of the most organized and successful fighting forces on the opposition side in Syria.