Al-Qaida’s No 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, blasted US President George Bush, saying he had been an alcoholic and was now a liar who gambled on the American people in Iraq and lost, according to a new audiotape released today.

The deputy leader of terror group al-Qaida mocked US President George W Bush’s plan to send 21,000 more troops to Iraq, in a new videotape broadcast tonight.

Al-Qaida No.2 Ayman al-Zawahri has called on Muslims to step up their resistance against the US, in a video aired by CNN early today on the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

A top al-Qaida leader whose links stretch from Afghan terror training camps to extremist networks operating throughout Europe has been captured in Pakistan, according to a US law enforcement official.