Air strikes on Syria 'war against Islam:' Al Qaeda

Beirut: Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda's Syrian franchise, said Saturday that foreign air strikes on the country constitute a "war against Islam", and threatened to attack the worldwide interests of participating nations.

"These states have committed a horrible act that is going to put them on the list of jihadist targets throughout the world," said spokesman Abu Firas al-Suri in a video posted online.

"This is not a war against Al-Nusra, but a war against Islam."

In August, the United States began bombing targets in Iraq of the Islamic State group.

This week, the operation was widened to Syria and to Al-Qaeda, as well as IS targets, with warplanes not only from the United States, but also Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Suri singled out those Arab countries, saying they had lined up "on the side of oppression and of the infidels" and that "this will have consequences".

"We are engaged in a long war... that war will not end in months, or a year, or in years, but could last decades," Suri said, adding that "we are capable of holding out".