(AKI) - Militants are carrying out attacks against NATO supply lines in northwest Pakistan to avenge the killing of Palestinians in Gaza, Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has purportedly said in a new audio message. The message was released hours after militants blew up a key Khyber pass bridge on a road along which 80 percent of NATO provisions enter Afghanistan. The tape's authenticity has not yet been verified.
"We cut off supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan in solidarity with Gazans," al-Zawahiri said in the 17-minute tape posted overnight to jihadist websites.
"We repeat to our brothers in Gaza that we are with them and will avenge them in Afghanistan by fighting head on their modern-day Crusader campaign which extends from Chechnya to Somalia and from Afghanistan to North Africa," al-Zawahiri stated.
"I give you some good news. The moment that Israel launches bomb attacks against Gaza, Islamabad has been forced to cut off NATO supplies," he said.
Pakistani authorities estimate it will take at least 10 days before the bridge is rebuilt and NATO's Khyber pass supply route can reopen.
Militants also destroyed 10 container trucks of NATO supplies in the Landi Kotal in Khyber Agency bordering Afghanistan. The militants set fire to the trucks in a parking lot early on Wednesday.
Entitled 'Plots and the Sacrifice of Gaza' the audiotape bears the logo of Al-Qaeda's Al-Sahab media arm.
Against the backdrop of a still image of al-Zawahiri, Arab leaders and dead Palestinian children, he urges Muslims to inflict human and material losses against western and Arab states and Israel and to overthrow Arab regimes.
Al-Zawahiri also mocks US President Barack Obama's expression of concern over the killings in Gaza as an empty gesture.
"We received your deep concern accompanied with thousands of rockets and bullets, and tonnes of white phosphorous, mixed with the blood, body parts and tears of the Muslims in Gaza.
"But the deep concern of Obama did not last for long. During his inauguration speech, he did not mention one word about what happened in Gaza, as if nothing happened."