Al-Qaida No. 2 urges Muslims to attack Israeli and Western targets over Gaza op

Al-Zawahri's remarks were publicized just as a senior U.S.
counterterrorism official said Tuesday that Al-Qaida's top leaders have been rendered ineffective by international anti-terrorist efforts. Osama Bin Laden and Zawahri, believed to be holed up in the remote Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, have been reduced to little more than a media operation, Dell Dailey, the State Department's
counterterrorism coordinator, said in a breakfast meeting with reporters.

But Al-Qaida itself remains a threat owing to its regional affiliates and violent intentions, he said.

"We see al Qaeda, in a centralized role, [as being] totally controlled," Dailey said. "Bin Laden can't get an operational effort off the ground
without it being detected ahead of time and being thwarted," he
added. "Their ability to reach is nonexistent."

Al-Zawahri's call on Muslims to attack Israel and the West was not the first of its kind since the Gaza offensive began.

A Saudi Web site last week reported that a popular cleric has issued a fatwa urging Muslims to target Israeli interests everywhere, to avenge the attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The site, Rasid, posts news about Saudi Arabia's Shiite community and on Sunday said that Sheik Awadh al-Garni has issued a religious edict urging Muslims to strike anything that has a link to Israel, calling it a legitimate target for Muslims everywhere.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week also issued a religious decree to Muslims around the world, ordering them to defend Palestinians against Israel's attacks on Gaza, state television said.

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