An al-Qaida commander who escaped from a US prison has posted a web video urging Muslims to kill the Saudi king for leading an interfaith conference in Madrid earlier this month.

An al Qaida spokesman has lashed out at moderate Muslims in a video sermon posted online, accusing them of promoting Western ideas that lure other Muslims away from holy war.

A missile from a US Predator drone struck a suspected terrorist safehouse in Pakistan and killed a top al-Qaida commander believed responsible for a bomb attack during a visit last year by Vice President Dick Cheney to Afghanistan, a US official said yesterday.

An al-Qaida commander who escaped from a US prison in Afghanistan criticised Hamas and other Islamic groups in a new video today, accusing them of abandoning holy war in favour of nationalism and electoral politics.

An al-Qaida member who escaped from a US prison in Afghanistan urged his followers in a new video aired today to acquire nuclear technology.

PROSECUTORS in the first major terror trial after September 11 were hindered by superiors from presenting some of their most powerful evidence.