The footage obtained and translated by CNN shows the jihadist groups second-in-command, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, meeting openly with fighters and commanders in Yemen.
Speaking to the more than 100 assembled fighters, al-Wuhayshi pledged a renewed war on the U.S. “We must eliminated the cross…The bearer of the cross is America!” he declares. The reference to the Christian crucifix has chilling significance given Al Qaeda’s concerted attacks on Christian communities throughout the Middle East and Africa, particularly in Syria, Egypt and Iraq, aimed at erasing the ancient Christian presence in those areas. MORE