Al-Qaeda's former second banana backs Syrian rebels; jihadists, weapons flowing over border from Iraq

The aim of jihad in all of its forms is the imposition of Islamic law, and Zawahiri knows that the success of the Syrian rebels will not bring about a Western-style liberal democracy in Damascus, but an Islamic regime controlled by Sunnis. "Al Qaeda leader backs Syrian revolt against Assad," by Martina Fuchs for Reuters, February 12:

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in a video recording posted on the Internet on Sunday, urged Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments in their uprising to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

In the eight-minute video, entitled "Onwards, Lions of Syria" and posted on an Islamist website, the Egyptian-born Zawahri also urged Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan to come to the aid of Syrian rebels confronting Assad's forces.

"Wounded Syria still bleeds day after day, while the butcher, son of the butcher Bashar bin Hafiz (Hafez al-Assad), is not deterred to stop," Zawahri, wearing his white turban and seated against a green curtain, said.

"But the resistance of our people in Syria despite all the pain, sacrifice and bloodshed escalates and grows," he added.

Zawahri took command of al Qaeda after Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces in a raid in Pakistan last May.

A Muslim should help "his brothers in Syria with all that he can, with his life, money, opinion, as well as information," Zawahri says....

More: "Jihadists, weapons 'moving from Iraq to Syria'," by Ammar Karim and Sammy Ketz for Agence France-Presse, February 11:

Jihadists are moving from Iraq to Syria and arms are also sent across the border to opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, Iraq's deputy interior minister said in an interview with AFP on Saturday. [...]

"We have intelligence information that a number of Iraqi jihadists went to Syria," Assadi said, adding that "weapons smuggling is still ongoing" from Iraq into Syria.

Since March last year, Assad's regime has carried out a bloody crackdown on an uprising in which more than 6,000 people have been killed.

While there are still regular civilian protests that turn deadly in Syria, the focus has now also shifted to armed conflict with regime forces.

"The weapons are transported from Baghdad to Nineveh (province), and the prices of weapons in Mosul (the province's capital) are higher now because they are being sent to the opposition in Syria," Assadi said.

He said that the price of a Kalashnikov assault rifle has risen from between $100 and $200 to between $1,000 and $1,500.

"The weapons are being smuggled from Mosul through the Rabia crossing to Syria, as members of the same families live on both sides of the border," he said.

And "there is some smuggling through a crossing near Abu Kamal," Assadi said, referring to a Syrian city.

There are large numbers of weapons in Iraq after three decades marked by multiple wars and a violent insurgency following the 2003 overthrow of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein.

Assadi said some Arab jihadists have returned to their home countries to take part in revolutions there.

"In the past, Syrians were fighting in Iraq, and now they are fighting in Syria, and also the Egyptians are fighting in Egypt, the Yemenis in Yemen, and the Libyans in Libya."

"Violence in Iraq is less now because Al-Qaeda has so many places to fight," Assadi said.
Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak "used to send jihadists to Iraq and financed them to fight in Iraq, and (ousted Libyan leader Moamer) Kadhafi used to have many organisations fighting in Iraq," he said....