Al Qaeda Leader Issues Global Call For The Kidnapping Of Westerners To Exchange For Jihadists

A handout released on June 6, 2013 by the Site Intelligence Group shows an image of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri used to illustrate his latest audio message in which he calls on jihadists fighting in Syria's civil war to unite and fight for the establishment of an anti-US government in Damascus. © AFP

Al-Qaida Leader Urges Kidnapping Of Westerners to Exchange For Jihadists -- The Guardian/Reuters

• Ayman al-Zawahiri urges unity in audio interview
• Expresses solidarity with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood

The al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims to kidnap westerners, particularly Americans, who could then be exchanged for jailed jihadists including a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to attack the United Nations and other New York landmarks.

In a wide-ranging audio interview, the al-Qaida leader expressed solidarity with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is facing a violent crackdown by the army-backed government in Egypt, and urged unity among rebels in their fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the Zawahiri tape, but the voice resembled that of the al-Qaida leader.

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