DHAKA: Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri has described the army-installed government’s crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as a ‘brutal crime’ and urged Egyptians to resist what he called a campaign against Islam in their country.

Security forces have killed hundreds of Brotherhood supporters and arrested thousands, including most it leaders, since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Mursi on July 3 following mass protests against his rule.

Many were killed when the security forces, who regard the Brotherhood as terrorists, killed hundreds of its supporters on August 14 in a raid on pro-Mursi protest camps in Cairo.

In an audio speech released a day after the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 strikes on the United States, former doctor Zawahri, condemned the break up of the camps and the arrest of Islamists.

‘This is an episode of a long drama that awaits Egyptians if they don`t unite to implement sharia Islamic law and free their country,’ said Zawahri, an Egyptian who was tortured by authorities during the rule of ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Zawahri also said the United States was conspiring in Egypt and called on Egyptians to fight the ‘oppression’, reports The Jerusalem Post.

BDST: 1356 HRS, SEPT 14, 2013
RoR/BSK