Al-Qaida leader backs Syria protests

DAMASCUS, Syria, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida's leader says he supports the anti-government uprising in Syria, urging rebels to topple the current regime.

Ayman al-Zawahiri said in a video message that Syrian rebels should not rely on what he called the "failed states of the Arab League, the West or Turkey," the BBC reported Sunday.

"If we want freedom, we must be liberated from this regime. If we want justice, we must retaliate against this regime," Zawahiri said in the video.

He called on militants in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to support what he called "their brothers in Syria."

Zawahiri took over as leader of al-Qaida when Osama bin Laden died last May, the BBC said.