Al-Qaida leader opposes fighting Christians

CAIRO (AP) — Al-Qaida’s leader says that Egypt’s majority Muslims should not fight their Christian compatriots, even though the head of their church supported a military coup that deposed the Islamist president.

In an audio message posted on militant websites early Saturday, Ayman al-Zawahri said it was not in the interest of Muslims to be engaged with the Christians because “we have to be busy with confronting the Americanized coup of (Gen. Abdel-Fattah) el-Sissi and establish an Islamic government instead.”

El-Sissi is Egypt’s defense minister who removed President Mohammed Morsi from power in a popularly backed July 3 coup.