Al-Qaida branch warns Libya rebels against America

[March 21, 2011]  CAIRO (AP) -- The leader of al-Qaida's North Africa branch has urged Libyan rebels not to trust America and the U.S. role in the international coalition bombing Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

Abdelmalek Droukdel of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claims the same America now attacking Gadhafi turned a "blind eye" in the past on his crimes against Libyans.

Droukdel, also known as Abu Musab Abdul-Wadud, says America got Gadhafi to give up weapons of mass destruction and Libyan oil so he could stay in power. The statement was posted Monday on a militant website.

It says "winds of liberation have started blowing in Libya" and urges Tunisians, Egyptians and Algerians to help their Libyan brethren fight Gadhafi.

Al-Qaida has lobbied for Gadhafi's overthrow and the establishment of Islamic rule in Libya.

[Associated Press]

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