CAIRO (AP) — The leader of al-Qaida's North Africa branch has urged Libyan rebels not to trust America and the U.S. role in the international coalition bombing Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
Abdelmalek Droukdel of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claims the same America now attacking Gadhafi turned a "blind eye" in the past on his crimes against Libyans.
Droukdel, also known as Abu Musab Abdul-Wadud, says America got Gadhafi to give up weapons of mass destruction and Libyan oil so he could stay in power. The statement was posted Monday on a militant website.
It says "winds of liberation have started blowing in Libya" and urges Tunisians, Egyptians and Algerians to help their Libyan brethren fight Gadhafi.
Al-Qaida has lobbied for Gadhafi's overthrow and the establishment of Islamic rule in Libya.