Seiyuuki
08-18-2003, 11:46 PM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - An audiotape, purportedly from an al-Qaida militant, calls on Muslims around the world to travel to Iraq and fight the U.S.-led occupation.
The speaker on the audiotape, obtained by The Associated Press and aired Monday on Al-Arabiya television, claimed to be Abdur Rahman al-Najdi, a Saudi-born militant sought by the United States.
A wanted poster for al-Najdi was circulated by U.S. forces in Afghanistan earlier this year, alongside others for Osama bin Laden, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and other militants. Western intelligence sources believe the Taliban, al-Qaida and fighters loyal to Afghan rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are working together to oppose U.S.-led forces and the Afghan government.
The tape was thought to be the first public call by bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network for Muslims to join the fight in Iraq.
In Washington, a U.S. official familiar with the audio message could not confirm its authenticity. However, the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said al-Najdi is a known senior al-Qaida propagandist and financier who has released messages in the past to boost the morale within al-Qaida's ranks.
His real name is Sa'd Muhammad Mubarak al-Jubayri al-Shahri, the official said. He also goes by Abu Anas al-Tabuki, Osman and Abu Uthman.
"We expected that the government in Iraq will resist for three to six months within which time mujahedeen (holy warriors) from the entire world would have reached Iraq. But the government fell earlier than our expectations," the speaker on the tape said.
"We expected that the government would stay and mujahedeen would benefit from its weapon stockpiles. But the government was removed," he said, speaking in Arabic.
The speaker called on Muslims to join the fight in Iraq and to help overthrow the royal family in Saudi Arabia, calling them puppets of the United States.
"I ask people in Arab countries neighboring Iraq to cross the border and go there and help the Iraqi mujahedeen," he said.
"The birthplace of Muhammad (Saudi Arabia) is also waiting for you to be saved from Jews, Christians and America," he said. "O Muslims, wherever you are, prepare yourselves for jihad (holy war) and come to Iraq and Saudi Arabia."
It was impossible to independently verify the authenticity of the audiotape, which was acquired by The Associated Press last Friday in Pakistan's rugged tribal regions, where deeply conservative tribesmen support Afghanistan's ousted Taliban.
The voice on the tape identifies himself as al-Najdi and says he is the spokesman of a previously unknown organization, Fronts of Mujahedeen in Afghanistan. He said bin Laden and the Taliban leader Mullah Omar are "alive and well".
A number of tapes and videos have appeared in recent weeks calling for Muslims to join the Iraqi resistance. A video aired on Al-Arabiya on Aug. 9 showed five masked men claiming to represent three groups who called on the "mujahedeen" to join the fight in Iraq and said there already had been "Arab martyrs."
On July 13, Al-Arabiya aired a tape in which the previously unknown "Islamic Armed Group of al-Qaida, Fallujah branch" claimed to be an Iraqi branch of al-Qaida and said it — not Saddam — was behind attacks on U.S. forces.
The speaker on the audiotape, obtained by The Associated Press and aired Monday on Al-Arabiya television, claimed to be Abdur Rahman al-Najdi, a Saudi-born militant sought by the United States.
A wanted poster for al-Najdi was circulated by U.S. forces in Afghanistan earlier this year, alongside others for Osama bin Laden, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and other militants. Western intelligence sources believe the Taliban, al-Qaida and fighters loyal to Afghan rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are working together to oppose U.S.-led forces and the Afghan government.
The tape was thought to be the first public call by bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network for Muslims to join the fight in Iraq.
In Washington, a U.S. official familiar with the audio message could not confirm its authenticity. However, the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said al-Najdi is a known senior al-Qaida propagandist and financier who has released messages in the past to boost the morale within al-Qaida's ranks.
His real name is Sa'd Muhammad Mubarak al-Jubayri al-Shahri, the official said. He also goes by Abu Anas al-Tabuki, Osman and Abu Uthman.
"We expected that the government in Iraq will resist for three to six months within which time mujahedeen (holy warriors) from the entire world would have reached Iraq. But the government fell earlier than our expectations," the speaker on the tape said.
"We expected that the government would stay and mujahedeen would benefit from its weapon stockpiles. But the government was removed," he said, speaking in Arabic.
The speaker called on Muslims to join the fight in Iraq and to help overthrow the royal family in Saudi Arabia, calling them puppets of the United States.
"I ask people in Arab countries neighboring Iraq to cross the border and go there and help the Iraqi mujahedeen," he said.
"The birthplace of Muhammad (Saudi Arabia) is also waiting for you to be saved from Jews, Christians and America," he said. "O Muslims, wherever you are, prepare yourselves for jihad (holy war) and come to Iraq and Saudi Arabia."
It was impossible to independently verify the authenticity of the audiotape, which was acquired by The Associated Press last Friday in Pakistan's rugged tribal regions, where deeply conservative tribesmen support Afghanistan's ousted Taliban.
The voice on the tape identifies himself as al-Najdi and says he is the spokesman of a previously unknown organization, Fronts of Mujahedeen in Afghanistan. He said bin Laden and the Taliban leader Mullah Omar are "alive and well".
A number of tapes and videos have appeared in recent weeks calling for Muslims to join the Iraqi resistance. A video aired on Al-Arabiya on Aug. 9 showed five masked men claiming to represent three groups who called on the "mujahedeen" to join the fight in Iraq and said there already had been "Arab martyrs."
On July 13, Al-Arabiya aired a tape in which the previously unknown "Islamic Armed Group of al-Qaida, Fallujah branch" claimed to be an Iraqi branch of al-Qaida and said it — not Saddam — was behind attacks on U.S. forces.