Ayman al-Zawahiri on Syria

INVOKING JIHAD: Al Queda Leader Ayman al-Zawahiri says the purpose of the struggle in Syria is to “restore the Islamic caliphate, which was diminished by the West by establishing a secular ‘Turkish’ country in Syria.”

“The jihadists of al-Sham [Syrian lands] have disgraced the ugly face of Iran and its agents,” said Osama bin Laden’s successor.

“It is obvious that jihad in al-Sham will continue to Jerusalem,” declared al-Zawahiri in the 22-minute monologue recorded Wednesday and distributed by Islamist websites late Thursday. Video courtesy of al-Hanif al-falouji