Call to jihad

last updated 8 January 2015

Afghan border, Pakistan

Al Qaida’s second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, put out an audiotape this week calling for Muslims to fight Westerners even if al Qaida leaders “die or are arrested.” Al-Zawahri complained that there had been too little independent action against “the Americans and the crusaders,” and he urged young Muslims to form their own jihadi cells to carry on the struggle. U.S. and Western intelligence experts said such tapes were typically issued about a month before a major attack, and they said the tape was further evidence that a disruption could be planned for the Nov. 2 U.S. elections. But they also noted that al-Zawahri’s reference to his possible death was uncharacteristically gloomy, and could indicate that Pakistani and U.S. troops are closing in on his hideout.