Al-Qaeda calls on extremists to carry out attacks at the Olympics.
Current Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri reportedly asked his associates to kidnap people from the West and exchange them for imprisoned jihadists until the last imprisoned Muslim is freed. "In the recording, al-Zawahiri urges a fight against 'the crusaders, traitors, and enemies of Islam,' a fight he intends to launch by taking hostages in Western countries. He suggests exchanging captured Westerners for jihadists held in 'atheist' prisons until the last imprisoned Muslim man and woman are freed," reported the SITE Intelligence Group. Among the means of carrying out attacks, poison, explosives, and firearms are indicated, which can be easily acquired in Brazilian favelas.
Sputnik - The current leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, reportedly asked his associates to kidnap people from the West in exchange for imprisoned jihadists until the last imprisoned Muslim is released.
The appeal was made in an audio interview with the head of the terrorist group, posted on the Internet, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.
"In the recording, al-Zawahiri urges a fight against 'the crusaders, traitors, and enemies of Islam,' a fight he intends to launch by taking hostages in Western countries. He suggests exchanging captured Westerners for jihadists held in 'atheist' prisons until the last imprisoned Muslim man and the last imprisoned Muslim woman are freed."
This is not the first time that Al-Zawahiri, involved in organizing several terrorist attacks around the world, including 9/11, has called for kidnappings. In 2012 he called on jihadists to take Western tourists hostage in Muslim countries.
According to reports, the leader of the terrorist group, who is currently a fugitive from Western security services, may be hiding in a Taliban base on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It is not yet known whether the recent recording is genuine.
On Wednesday, The Foreign Desk website reported on directives issued by an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group to Islamists to carry out attacks during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. According to instructions that appeared on social media, the jihadists' priority targets would be British, American, French, and Israeli athletes, as well as high-level spectators and guests, such as heads of state from Western countries.
"A small knife attack against Americans/Israelis in these locations will have a greater media impact than any attacks elsewhere," indicates one of the messages quoted by The Foreign Desk website.
"Among the means of carrying out attacks, poison, explosives, and firearms are indicated, which can be easily acquired in Brazilian 'favelas'. Also according to these directives, bombs can be easily installed on drones and directed against crowds."
Last day, Brazilian security forces arrested ten suspects accused of planning attacks during the Olympics.