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Al-Qaeda deputy praises Taliban gains in Afghanistan in new tape | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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CAIRO, Egypt (AP) – Al-Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri has praised Taliban leader Mullah Omar for winning back control of large regions of Afghanistan and urged Muslims to wage holy war against the West, according to a tape that surfaced Sunday.

The new tape, which is about 48 minutes long, was believed to have been made at about the same time that the last tape attributed to al-Zawahri, a Sept. 19 video, was issued.

The latest tape, which could not be immediately authenticated, was obtained by IntelCenter, a government contractor that does support work for the U.S. intelligence community.

In it, al-Zawahri credited Mullah Omar with leading a three-year campaign &#34against the Crusaders and apostates in Afghanistan&#34 and taking control of &#34extensive parts of eastern and western Afghanistan.&#34

The tape was also a rallying call to Muslims to attack Western interests, saying: &#34the key to victory is in our hands, and in turn, the primary cause of defeat is in ourselves.&#34