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Al-Qaida leader urges restraint in first 'guidelines for jihad'

LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri has issued his first specific guidelines for jihad, urging restraint in attacking other Muslim sects and non-Muslims and in starting conflicts in countries where jihadis might find a safe base to promote their ideas.
The document, published by the SITE monitoring service, provides a rare look at al Qaeda's strategy 12 years after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and the nature of its global ambitions from North Africa to the Caucasus to Kashmir.
While al Qaeda's military aim remained to weaken the United States and Israel, Zawahri stressed the importance of "dawa", or missionary work, to spread its ideas.
"As far as targeting the proxies of America is concerned, it differs from place to place. The basic principle is to avoid entering into any conflict with them, except in the countries where confronting them becomes inevitable," he said.