Qaeda chief pledges to fight

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) chief Nasser al-Wuhayshi has pledged in a rare video appearance to pursue the war against the Western "crusaders" everywhere possible. The video posted online shows Wuhayshi addressing scores of jihadists in a rugged terrain as he welcomes 19 militants who escaped a Sanaa prison in February. "We will continue to raise the banner of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula and our war against the crusaders will continue everywhere in the world," he says in the video. Al-Qaeda usually uses the term crusaders to refer to Western powers, especially the ones which have intervened militarily in Muslim countries, mainly the United States, Britain and France. The video shows the escapees arriving in a valley in off-road vehicles amid celebratory gunfire and chanting, according to AFP.