CAIRO: Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 offered his condolences for the nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists killed in a confrontation with Israeli commandos, but slammed the Turkish government for its support of Israel, in a message issued Sunday.
The 20-minute Arabic language audio message by Ayman al-Zawahri appeared on a militant website and is the latest effort by the terror network to expand its message to Muslims beyond the Arab world.
The Egyptian-born al-Zawahri called on the Turkish people to pressure their government to cut its military and economic ties with Israel and pull its troops out of Afghanistan where it is part of the NATO forces.
"The Turkish government shows sympathy with the Palestinians through statements or sending some relief aid, but actually it recognizes Israel, engages in trade, carries out military training and shares information with it," he said.
"The change will come when the Turkish people urge their government to stop cooperating with Israel … or taking part in killing Muslims in Afghanistan," he added.
Turkey was once Israel’s strongest ally in the Muslim world, with close military ties and a vigorous bilateral trade. In the wake of the 2009 Israeli assault on Gaza, however, ties between the two countries have chilled.
Turkey is demanding an apology from Israel for the May raid on an aid flotilla seeking to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip that left the activists dead.
"The Turkish government issues statements against Israel, but at the same time commits the same Jewish crimes but against the Muslim mujahedeen in Afghanistan, burning their houses, demolishing their villages and even assuming the leadership of the NATO there," al-Zawahri said.
In recent years, Al-Qaeda has started issuing statements addressing Muslims elsewhere in the world outside some of terror group’s traditional areas of interest in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and the Arab world.
