Egypt Qaeda branch calls for attacks on "Crusaders"

DUBAI, June 24 (Reuters) A leader of al Qaeda's wing in Egypt called for attacks on ''Zionist'' and Western targets in the Arab world's most populous country in support of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

''O heroes, strike ... all the Zionist-Crusader targets in the land of Egypt without shedding the blood of Muslims,'' Mohamed Hakaima, a former leader of Egypt's Gama'a Islamiya militant group, said in a statement posted on the Internet.

The authenticity of the statement could not be verified but it was posted on a Web site used by militant groups including al Qaeda.

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