Report: Al-Qaeda Appoints Al-Zawahiri as New Leader

Fire up the predator drones...

CAIRO (AP) — An al-Qaida-affiliated website says Egypt-born Ayman al-Zawahri has succeeded Osama bin laden as head of the terror network.

Bin Laden was killed in a U.S. commando raid in Pakistan last month. Al-Zawahri, who will turn 60 next week, had been bin Laden’s second in command.

He is the son of an upper middle class Egyptian family of doctors and scholars. His father was a pharmacology professor at Cairo University’s medical school and his grandfather was the grand imam of Al-Azhar University, a premier center of religious study.

Al Qaeda declares Obama's election a victory for them

Al Qaeda's deputy commander, Ayman Zawahri attacked the U.S and President Obama in an unauthenticated tape. He uses Obama's decision to withdraw from Iraq as proof we have not defeated Al Qaeda. He calls Obama's election a political triumph for Al-Qaeda and the result of US defeat in Iraq. Story reported by AKI.

Barack Obama's election as US president has failed to lift America's status in the Muslim and Arab world, and is a victory for Al-Qaeda, according to a new audio message allegedly from the terror network's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The video was posted on key jihadist websites on Monday.

The authenticity of the tape is yet to be verified. The purported message is in Arabic and, unlike previous ones, contains no English subtitles. The message is edited with extracts from recent Arabic TV interviews with Arab political analysts.

"In our view, America is still the country that kills Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. It is the country that steals our assets and occupies our lands, and which props up thieving and corrupt Arab regimes.

"The Islamic nation has opted to revive Islam and refuses to give in to oppression. Killing or capturing people casts the US in an even worse light. The US airstrikes in Pakistan pour oil on the flames and will lead to further defeats for that country," al-Zawahiri says.

Hat tip Gateway Pundit