The Independent: Syrian Regime Captures al-Zawahiri’s Brother

Local Editor

The Independent daily revealed Saturday that the brother of the head of al-Qaeda is reported to have been captured by regime forces in Syria.
According to the British report, Mohamed al-Zawahiri is said to have been seized in Deraa in the south-west where he was meeting opposition rebels.
In an attempt to limit the role of al-Zawahiri, the rebel fighters claimed that "Mohamed was engaged on a humanitarian mission and had not been involved in violent acts." They also claimed that he had, in fact, proposed a local truce to enable aid to get through.

However, this will confirm the Syrian regime's repeated charge that the so-called "revolution" has been taken over by "terrorists".
This comes as Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over as al-Qaeda leader following the killing of Osama bin Laden, has declared that it is the duty of "Muslims to take part in fighting the Syrian regime."
"There is also evidence of groups of foreign volunteers... joining the uprising," it added.
The reports of al-Zawhari's brother presence in Syria have come from rebel factions.

In another context, the daily highlighted that "Jabhat al-Nusra, an extremist rebel group with links to al-Qaeda, has become increasingly powerful in the conflict, overshadowing the more moderate fighters, and its leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, is said to be in personal contact with Ayman al-Zawahiri."
Deraa, near the Jordanian border, has, however, become a stronghold for Jabhat al-Nusra where its "emir", the organization has announced, is Abu Julaybib, a brother-in-law of the former leader of al-Qaida in Iraq who was killed in an American air strike in 2006. He was reportedly killed by the Syrian regime.

Source: the Independent, Edited by moqawama.org