Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri warned United States of the &quot;gravest consequences&quot; if Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or any other Muslim prisoners is executed. 
 
Tsarnaev, named in Zawahri&#39;s online video message, was sentenced to death by lethal injection on June 24 last year for the 2013 bomb attack\ which killed three people and injured more than 260. 
 
(Reuters)

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death by lethal injection on June 24 last year for the 2013 bomb attack

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri warned United States of the "gravest consequences" if Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or any other Muslim prisoners is executed. Tsarnaev, named in Zawahri's online video message, was sentenced to death by lethal injection on June 24 last year for the 2013 bomb attack\ which killed three people and injured more than 260. (Reuters)

Al-Qaeda leader warns of 'gravest consequences' if Boston marathon bomber executed

Insurgents seized a strategic town from Syrian government forces and their allies in the western coastal province of Latakia today, a monitoring group and the rebels said, in a rare advance for them in the area.

The Syrian government forces had captured Kansaba in February, part of a wider advance in Latakia&#39;s northern countryside at the time, backed by Russian air power.

Fighting picked up again in the area after a ceasefire deal later that month brought a temporary lull. The truce has mostly unravelled throughout areas where it took effect in the west of the country.

The al-Qaeda&nbsp;affiliated Nusra Front was among the groups that retook Kansaba, which had previously been an important base for the insurgents. The town overlooks much of the mountainous Jabal Akrad area close to the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The British-based monitoring group said it was part of a wider offensive launched earlier in the week.

Nusra Front said in an online statement that an alliance of Islamist rebel groups including itself had captured Kansaba and a number of other villages, seizing several tanks and artillery guns.

It was a rare gain for rebels in Latakia since Russia intervened in the five-year Syrian conflict on the side of President Bashar al-Assad last September.

Northern Latakia borders Idlib province, a stronghold for insurgent groups including Nusra Front.

Further to the northeast, in Aleppo province, Nusra Front and other Islamist insurgents have recently launched heavy attacks against government forces and their allies, including Iranian troops and Lebanese Shi&#39;ite Hezbollah fighters.

Latakia&#39;s coastal areas, including the provincial capital city of the same name, are the heartland of Assad&#39;s minority Alawite community and are also home to a Russian air base.

Rebels have in the past sought to bring the fight closer to the coast. They were regularly shelling Latakia city before the Russian intervention. 
 
(Reuters)

It was a rare gain for rebels in Latakia since Russia intervened in the five-year Syrian conflict on the side of President Bashar al-Assad

Insurgents seized a strategic town from Syrian government forces and their allies in the western coastal province of Latakia today, a monitoring group and the rebels said, in a rare advance for them in the area. The Syrian government forces had captured Kansaba in February, part of a wider advance in Latakia's northern countryside at the time, backed by Russian air power. Fighting picked up again in the area after a ceasefire deal later that month brought a temporary lull. The truce has mostly unravelled throughout areas where it took effect in the west of the country. The al-Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front was among the groups that retook Kansaba, which had previously been an important base for the insurgents. The town overlooks much of the mountainous Jabal Akrad area close to the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The British-based monitoring group said it was part of a wider offensive launched earlier in the week. Nusra Front said in an online statement that an alliance of Islamist rebel groups including itself had captured Kansaba and a number of other villages, seizing several tanks and artillery guns. It was a rare gain for rebels in Latakia since Russia intervened in the five-year Syrian conflict on the side of President Bashar al-Assad last September. Northern Latakia borders Idlib province, a stronghold for insurgent groups including Nusra Front. Further to the northeast, in Aleppo province, Nusra Front and other Islamist insurgents have recently launched heavy attacks against government forces and their allies, including Iranian troops and Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah fighters. Latakia's coastal areas, including the provincial capital city of the same name, are the heartland of Assad's minority Alawite community and are also home to a Russian air base. Rebels have in the past sought to bring the fight closer to the coast. They were regularly shelling Latakia city before the Russian intervention. (Reuters)

Alliance of Islamist rebels retake key town from Assad's forces

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, who was appointed last month after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike. 
 
The veteran Islamist militant became al-Qaeda&#39;s leader after US Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011. He is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region having been based there since the late 1990s. 
 
&quot;As leader of the al-Qaeda organisation for jihad I extend my pledge of allegiance once again to the approach of Osama to invite the Muslim nation to support the Islamic Emirate,&quot; al-Zawahri said in a 14-minute recording. 
 
During its years in power, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and it has been fighting an insurgency since to regain control of the country. 
 
The authenticity of the recording could not be immediately verified. 
 
Haibatullah Akhundzada, Islamic legal scholar who was one of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour&#39;s deputies, was appointed a few days after Mansour was killed by a US drone attack in a remote border area just inside Pakistan. 
 
Since al-Zawahri, an Egyptian doctor-turned-militant, succeeded bin Laden, al-Qaeda has lost ground to the Islamic State in the leadership of the global jihadist movement. 
 
Some Afghan insurgent commanders have broken away from the Taliban to pledge support for Islamic State, despite it operating largely in Iraq and Syria, and parts of North Africa. 
 
Al-Qaeda was set up by Arab guerrillas who flocked to Afghanistan to fight Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s. It had thrived under the Taliban&#39;s rule before both groups were driven underground following the US invasion that followed Al-Qaeda&#39;s September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

The al-Qaeda leader is following Osama Bin Laden's approach to support the Taliban to regain ground in the global jihadist movement

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, who was appointed last month after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike. The veteran Islamist militant became al-Qaeda's leader after US Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011. He is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region having been based there since the late 1990s. "As leader of the al-Qaeda organisation for jihad I extend my pledge of allegiance once again to the approach of Osama to invite the Muslim nation to support the Islamic Emirate," al-Zawahri said in a 14-minute recording. During its years in power, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and it has been fighting an insurgency since to regain control of the country. The authenticity of the recording could not be immediately verified. Haibatullah Akhundzada, Islamic legal scholar who was one of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour's deputies, was appointed a few days after Mansour was killed by a US drone attack in a remote border area just inside Pakistan. Since al-Zawahri, an Egyptian doctor-turned-militant, succeeded bin Laden, al-Qaeda has lost ground to the Islamic State in the leadership of the global jihadist movement. Some Afghan insurgent commanders have broken away from the Taliban to pledge support for Islamic State, despite it operating largely in Iraq and Syria, and parts of North Africa. Al-Qaeda was set up by Arab guerrillas who flocked to Afghanistan to fight Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s. It had thrived under the Taliban's rule before both groups were driven underground following the US invasion that followed Al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

Al-Qaeda leader pledges allegiance to new Afghan Taliban leader

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Al-Qaeda leader warns of 'gravest consequences' if Boston marathon bomber executed

Alliance of Islamist rebels retake key town from Assad's forces

Al-Qaeda leader pledges allegiance to new Afghan Taliban leader