Ayman al-Zawahri, the al-Qaeda No 2, said in a new message on a militant website yesterday that Barack Obama was “the direct opposite of honourable black Americans” like Malcolm X, and called him a “house negro”.

The message referred to speeches by Malcolm X in which he said that black slaves who worked in their white masters’ homes were more servile than those who worked in the fields.

The al-Qaeda deputy urged supporters to keep up attacks on America. He said that Mr Obama’s plan to shift troops to Afghanistan was doomed to fail. “Be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them,” he said.

1965: Malcolm X shot dead at Harlem rally

A sawn-off rifle was discovered behind the stage

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