CAIRO -- Marking the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the leader of al-Qaida has called on Muslims to wage war against the United States throughout the world.

In a 30-minute speech released Tuesday, Ayman al-Zawahri went to great lengths to portray the United States as a religious enemy of Muslims, using Washington's transfer of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as evidence of that enmity.

The Washington-based SITE group, which monitors media material by militants across the world, released an English transcript of the speech.

"America (is) the number one enemy of Muslims ... despite of its professed secularism," al-Zawahri said in the video. He listed 14 directives to fight the United States, including an appeal for Muslim unity and jihadists close ranks. (AP)