Al-Qaeda leader urges Islamists to unite, prepare for long ‘holly war’ in Syria

Al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahri on Monday called on Islamist militants in Syria to unite ranks and prepare for a long ‘holly war’.

In an audio message released on Monday by al-Qaeda’s media arm As-Sahab, al-Zawahri urged jihadists to remain steadfast and change tactics to a guerrilla war.

According to the al-Qaeda leader, the “international satanic alliance”, or the US-led coalition, “will never accept Islam’s rule in Syria.”

Al-Zawahri further said that the 6-year-old war in Syria is not a nationalist Syrian cause, “but a campaign by the entire Muslim nation that seeks to establish divine rule.”

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