Al-Qaeda leader publicly declares war on IS instead of US

On the eve of the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri, instead of criticizing the US, suddenly turned to declaring war on IS.

According to ABC News, in a recent audio recording, Zawahiri accused IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of being an "inciter of rebellion" and affirmed that al-Baghdadi is not the leader of all Muslims and jihadist rebel groups as he declared 14 months ago at a mosque in Mosul.

Al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri (left) and IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. AP photo

“This is quite interesting,” said Matthew Olsen, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center. “Zawahiri has never publicly condemned Baghdadi and ISIS. This shows that there is a split between al-Qaeda and ISIS and that this split is irreconcilable.”

If IS and al-Qaeda decided to merge, it “would be terrible,” Mr. Olsen added.

Therefore, according to Mr. Olsen, this division could be a loophole that US counterterrorism agencies can exploit.

Mr. Olsen suggested that the US could spread disinformation to divide the two rebel groups so that they would turn against each other and even kill each other, just as IS is believed to have assassinated a close associate of Zawahiri who was tasked with mediating between the two groups in Syria in February 2014.

A US counterterrorism official said IS affiliates in Afghanistan and Pakistan were “constantly fighting” the Taliban and al-Qaeda in those countries. “The fact that they are fighting each other makes our job easier,” the official said.

In the same recording, Zawahiri complained that Baghdadi had ignored what Muslims in Gaza and Pakistan were suffering.

“We have tried to hold back as much as possible in the hope of extinguishing the flames of rebellion. But Baghdadi and his men have left us no choice. They demand that every mujahideen betray us and pledge allegiance to them,” Zawahiri said.

“Everyone is surprised that Baghdadi dares to claim to be the fourth caliph in the history of Islam,” Zawahiri declared, accusing Baghdadi of doing so “without consulting other Muslims.”

According to VOV.VN