In a 15-minute recording posted online on Saturday, Zawahri criticized all those who had formed political parties in Egypt and supported the Egyptian military in ousting former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

"I give this piece of advice to whoever supported Morsi and I tell them first we have to admit that legitimacy doesn't lie in elections and democracy," Zawahri said.

He said Morsi was not a “president of a republic” but “a president of a secular and nationalistic state".

The recording, posted two days after US Secretary of State John Kerry gave his seal of approval to Egypt's new leaders saying that they had restored democracy, also lashed out at US for supporting supporters of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

More than 300 people have been killed in Egypt since the army removed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood from power on July 3 in response to mass protests against his rule.

The popular mood in Egypt had swung against the Brotherhood after Morsi was accused of trying to establish himself as a new dictator during his first year in office.

Pro-Morsi supporters have been staging two main sit-ins in Cairo since his ouster asking to bring him back to power.

NTJ/SHI