Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged Syrians on Thursday to unite to bring down President Bashar Assad and thwart alleged US plans to set up a client state in Syria.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged Syrians on Thursday to unite to bring down President Bashar Assad and thwart alleged US plans to set up a client state in Syria.

In a 22-minute recording posted on extremist websites, marking 65 years since the founding of the Zionist entity, Zawahri said that the US wants to set up a government “loyal to them and to safeguard Israel's security,” Reuters reported.

The authenticity of the recording was not immediately verified, and made no reference to al-Qusayr victory achieved by the Syrian army a day earlier.

Al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front is the most extremist terrorist group fighting in Syria against the national government.

Syria was hit by a violent unrest since mid-March 2011, where the Syrian government accuses foreign actors of orchestrating the conflict, by supporting the militant opposition groups with arms and money.