BAGHDAD: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has called on Iraq's Sunnis to prepare for a "long guerrilla" war if Islamic State is defeated, according to a video seen on Thursday.
"The Sunnis of Iraq should not just surrender upon the fall of (their) cities into the hand of the Shi'ite Safavid army,'' he said in a video recording distributed by supporters, using a derogatory term for the army of Iraq's Shi'ite-led government.
"Rather they should reorganize themselves in a long guerrilla war in order to defeat the new Crusader-Safavid occupation of their areas as they defeated them before."
The Iraqi army is supported by both a U.S-led coalition and Iran in its fight with Islamic State, which seized much of northern and western Iraq in 2014.
Reuters
