Egyptian militants joining network, al-Qaeda says

Al-Qaeda says it has found a new ally.

In a broadcast on the Al-Jazeera news network,Ayman al-Zawahri, the deputy leader of the extremist organization,announced thata revived Egyptian Islamist groupwas joining its network.

"We announce to the Islamic nation the good news of the unification of a great faction of the knights of the Gamaa Islamiya with the al-Qaeda group," al-Zawahri said.

Gamaa Islamiya was at one time Egypt's largest extremist group, executing a series of violent attacks on tourists and Christians during the 1990s.

The Egyptian government arrested many of its leaders and the group eventually declared a ceasefire in 1999.

Al-Zawahri said the Egyptian group is led by Mohammed al-Islambouli, the younger brother of Khaled al-Islambouli who was executed for the 1979 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat.

The video also included a statement from another leader, Mohammed al-Hakayma, who said former members had revived the group and rejected the 1999 truce.

He pledged his loyalty to Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the group's former leader. Rahman was convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks and is being held in a U.S. prison.

However, an Egyptian expert on militant groups has dismissed al-Zawahri's statements as propaganda.

"This is media talk from Ayman al-Zawahri. The Gamaa Islamiya has its own leadership and they said they have already rejected joining al-Qaeda in the past," Diaa Rashwan told the Associated Press. "Gamaa Islamiya has no command outside Egypt. They have dissolved in Egypt."

Thisbroadcast was al-Zawahri's second message in just over a week. On July 27, he called on Muslims to support Lebanon and Gaza and unite in a holy war against Israel.