CAIRO: Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri dismissed the Daesh movement and its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi as illegitimate but said his followers would join them in fighting the Western-led coalition in Iraq and Syria if possible.
In an audiotape on the Internet, Zawahri said: “We don’t recognize this caliphate.” It was not clear when the recording was made but references to events suggest it was made at least eight months ago.
Despite rivalries between Al-Qaeda and Daesh, former Egyptian doctor Zawahri suggested there was still room for cooperation when it came to combating the West.
“Despite the big mistakes (of Daesh), if I were in Iraq or Syria I would cooperate with them in killing the crusaders and secularists and Shiites even though I don’t recognize the legitimacy of their state, because the matter is bigger than that,” he said.
Al-Qaeda says Daesh illegitimate but vows cooperation
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