Anti-Muslim group to run ads in New York subway

NEW YORK (AFP) - Starting Monday, ads describing Muslim militants as "savages" will appear in New York's subway system, courtesy of a right-wing United States (US) anti-Islamic group.

"In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilised man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad," read the ads that the American Freedom Defence Initiative (AFDI) paid to be shown in the sprawling subway.

AFDI chief Pamela Geller told CNN: "I'm running them because I can." The conservative activist, who runs the Atlas Shrugs blog and heads a group called Stop Islamization of America, defended her use of the word "savage", claiming that jihad, in the sense of holy war, targets innocent people.

"I think any war against innocent civilians is savagery," she said.