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Al Qaeda Leader: 'Grave Consequences' If Boston Bomber Executed

BOSTON (KDKA) -- The leader of Al Qaeda has reportedly warned the United States of the "gravest consequences" if Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is executed.

According to multiple reports, Ayman al-Zawahri released a new video on Friday making the threat.

"If the U.S. administration kills our brother the hero Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or any Muslim," Zawahri reportedly stated in an online video, "[it] will bring America's nationals the gravest consequences."

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According to Reuters, Zawahri became al Qaeda's leader after U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. In the video, he added that western powers "are criminals and they only understand the language of force."

22-year-old Tsarnaev was convicted and sentenced to death in the April 15, 2013 Boston Marathon bombings that killed three and injured more than 260. He is being held at the high-security Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado.

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