Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri today called for revenge attacks in Saudi Arabia and the West after Riyadh executed about 40 jihadists.
Zawahiri, in a message published on the Internet, called on supporters to attack "the Crusader-Zionist coalition whenever possible", and called on the Saudis to overthrow the ruling family in that kingdom, reports AFP.
"Hasn't the time come to get rid of that rotten regime... that will never defend you," he asked.
On January 2, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people, most of them jihadists convicted of involvement in Al Qaeda attacks in which Saudis and foreigners were killed in the kingdom in 2003 and 2004, the French agency recalls.
Prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr was among those executed, sparking protests from Iran and a diplomatic crisis in which Riyadh cut ties with Tehran.
Zawahiri assessed that the killing of Nimr is "one of the manifestations of the Saudi-Iranian competition for power in the region, but under the protection of America and with obedience to its interests."
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