Assem Abdel Maged, media official at Jama'a al-Islamiya, has said that a group of jihadists are ready to travel to Syria within days to join the rebels in an attempt to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Abdel Maged told Al-Masry Al-Youm that other groups had previously fought overseas, including in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Mohamed al-Zawahiri, brother of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, denied rumors that he had taken up arms in Syria. "I did not and will not travel to Syria, and I have no intention to leave Egypt now to start with,” he said. “All that has been said about me traveling with Jihadists to Syria is absolutely not true." Magdy Salem, leader of Tala'e al-Fateh (Vanguards of Islamic Conquest), one of the jihadist movements that split from the Egyptian Islamic Jihad movement, said that his movement has not officially called for its members to travel to Syria. “The participation of jihadists in the liberation of Syria is not a general trend in the jihad movement,” he said. “Everyone is not doing enough to support Syria, but whoever decides to travel there, his decision is individual and has nothing to do with us." Informed sources said that the jihadists will fight with the Free Syrian Army, and denied any rift between them. The source pointed out that a number of members of jihad organizations are in Syria with the rebels, after they fought with the Libyan rebels who revolted against Muammar Qadhafi and contributed to his fall. According to the source, Egyptian jihadists will get together with other Arab fighters in one of the neighboring countries and will wait until they are provided with the needed weapons to enter the country. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
