Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri has called for attacks on Israeli and American targets to avenge Israel's raids on the Gaza Strip.
Zawahri made the call in a four-minute audio recording produced by al-Qaida's media arm As-Sahab and posted on the Internet on Monday.
"O Muslims. Today is your day. Hit the interests of the Jews and the Americans and all those who participated in the aggression against Muslims," he said.
He also accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of helping Israel in its offensive by sealing off the border between Egypt and Gaza.
(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2008)