Al-Qaeda chief calls for 'lone-wolf' attacks on US in '9/11 speech' to followers

The leader of Al-Qaeda Ayman al-Zawahiri has issued a message marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and talked of the need for small-scale attacks, and even a boycott to damage the US economy.

According to the BBC, the message may be seen as a sign of diminishing ambitions and a more realistic assessment of what al-Qaeda's central organisation can achieve.

Zawahiri's message also praised the bombings in Boston in April, the report said.

It begins with a familiar claim that his organisation has the upper hand and says that the US has fled Iraq and Afghanistan in 'defeat,' the report added.

He goes on to emphasise the importance of so-called 'lone-wolf,' or small-scale attacks as part of al-Qaeda's strategy, the report further said.

Such attacks, he argues, will have an economic impact above all, according to the report.

He said that the terror group must bleed America economically by provoking it so that it continues its massive expenditures on security.