CAIRO, Egypt – Al-Qaeda's new leader has lauded protesters in Syria for seeking to topple the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
In a video message posted on extremist websites Wednesday, Ayman al-Zawahri also alleges that Washington seeks to replace Assad with a leader who protects American and Israeli interests.
Al-Zawahri was named Al-Qaeda's new leader after US commandos killed Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan on 2 May.
He seeks to portray the Syrian uprising as an Islamic battle against Western interests in the Middle East. Syrian activists say religion has played little role in their uprising to topple Assad.
Al-Qaeda has previously tried to associate itself with the protesters that ousted autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt.
