AQIM's 'Abd Al-Wadud Praises Tunisia Regime Change

On January 13, 2011, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) leader Abu Mus'ab 'Abd Al-Wadud released two audio clips, produced by AQIM's media wing Al-Andalus and disseminated on various jihadi forums, in which he called on the Tunisians and Algerians, respectively, to escalate riots against their governments. The clips were released in light of fierce ongoing riots in Tunisia and recent riots in Algeria.

'Abd Al-Wadud called on the Tunisians to send their youth to join the ranks of his organization, where they could arm themselves and undergo military training. He added that those unable to join should carry out attacks on Western targets independently.

Following are the main points of the audio clips:

• 'Abd Al-Wadud praised the Tunisians for taking to the streets
• standing up to their "tyrannical" government after suffering decades of oppression at its hands
• offered the jihadists' help in supporting the Tunisians' "uprising."

The Rest @ MEMRI