Ayman al-Zawahiri appears in new videotape

April 29, 2006 Al-Qaeda's second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri has released a new videotape onto the internet.

On the tape, Zawahiri said that the United States and British forces "have achieved nothing but loss, disaster and misfortune."

"Al-Qaeda in Iraq alone has carried out 800 martyrdom operations in three years, besides the victories of the other mujahidin. And this is what has broken the back of America in Iraq," said Zawahiri.

Zawahiri also stated that the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, needed to be overthrown.

"The West which claims to support democracy ... is encouraging Musharraf to stay in power by any means after he demonstrated his aptitude at killing Muslims. I call on the Pakistani people to stand with Islam against the Zionist-Crusader assault ... and topple this bribe-taking treacherous criminal," said Zawahiri.

"Musharraf is fanning the flames of civil war in Pakistan on behalf of America in Waziristan and Baluchistan. He is inviting the Pakistani army to fight its own people and brothers and turn a blind eye to the Indian threat," added Zawahiri.

The tape is 16 minutes long. On April 23, the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden released an audiotape onto the Internet. Leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, released a tape just two days after bin Laden's.