Ayman al-Zawahri (left) with Osama bin Laden in a video from 2001 (epa)
September 14, 2006 -- The second most senior figure in the terrorist network Al-Qaeda has urged a militant Algerian Islamic group to step up action against French and U.S. interests.
In a previously undisclosed section of a videotape released on September 11, Ayman al-Zawahri also said that the group, the Salafist Group for Preaching And Combat, has officially joined the Al-Qaeda network.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said France must remain "extremely vigilant."
Experts say the group has been severely weakened in recent months. Algeria is a former French colony.
(Reuters, AFP)