Al Qaeda calls Islamic State illegitimate but suggests cooperation

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri dismissed Islamic State and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as illegitimate but said his followers would join them in fighting the Western-led coalition in Iraq and Syria if possible. In an audiotape on the internet, Zawahri said: “We don’t recognize this caliphate.” It was not clear when the recording was made but references to events suggest it was made at least eight months ago.

Despite the big mistakes (of Islamic State), if I were in Iraq or Syria I would cooperate with them in killing the crusaders and secularists and Shi'ites even though I don’t recognize the legitimacy of their state, because the matter is bigger than that.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri.

Islamic State has declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria under its control and sought to expand its power in the Middle East, becoming a greater security threat than al Qaeda in the strategic oil-producing region. Despite rivalries between the two Islamist organizations, former Egyptian doctor Zawahri suggested there was still room for cooperation when it came to combating the West.

Zawahri says that ISIS is absolutely not a caliphate and Baghdadi doesn’t deserve to be caliph. However, it is an emirate and if he were in Iraq and Syria, he would fight alongside it. That seems like a bit of an olive branch.

Al Qaeda expert Will McCants of the Brookings Institution.

Middle East Al Qaeda