AN al-Qaida-linked group that claimed responsibility for the London bombings threatened yesterday to launch “a bloody war” on the capitals of European countries that do not remove their troops from Iraq within a month.

An al-Qaida-linked group that claimed responsibility for the London bombings threatened today to launch “a bloody war” on the capitals of European countries that do not remove their troops from Iraq within a month.

A website statement posted today and signed in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq said the militant group has appointed a deputy to take the lead until the wounded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi returns. The statement’s authenticity could not be verified.

MILITANTS loyal to Islamic extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who vowed an all-out war against Iraq’s election, claimed more than a dozen suicide attacks against voting stations on polling day.