Saudi Arabia al-Qaida leader calls on all Muslims to ‘turn infidels’ lands into hell’

One of Saudi Arabia’s most wanted al-Qaida militants has called on Muslims to kill Americans everywhere and vowed attacks against Arab leaders allied to Washington, according to a video on an Islamist website.

A masked man identified as Abdulaziz al-Muqrin in a video on the Dirasat website said Americans had yet to feel the “real fires of battle”. In an apparent reference to a guerrilla uprising in Iraq, he said Washington faced another Vietnam.

“O mujahideen, fight the Americans everywhere and fight the Americans with all your might and capabilities. Terrorise them as they have terrorised your brothers,” the man said.

There was no independent confirmation of the identity of the figure whose brown cloth mask obscured all but his eyes.

“O mujahideen this is your day, your jihad, and this is your enemy occupying your land, turning it into bases to fight Islam and Muslims, and controlling apostate agents. So fight them until ... you only see blood and body parts as they have done to your brothers in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq in their battles in the Muslim peninsula,” the man said.

The website has carried statements purporting to be from Osama bin Laden.

The video was posted on the website as US-led forces faced growing rebellion from Sunni and Shi’ite guerrillas in Iraq. The fighting has thrown into doubt plans for a handover of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30. US and Pakistani forces are involved in a drive to capture al-Qaida militants in Afghanistan.

Muqrin is on a Saudi wanted list of top al-Qaida militants, blamed for suicide bombings which killed at least 50 people in the capital Riyadh last year.

“The mujahideen will target the crusaders at first. As for the apostate, agent rulers their day is coming soon, God willing, after we are done with their masters and the convoys of martyrs will continue,” said the man in Arabic.

Muqrin was reported last month to have taken over leadership of al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia after the killing of top operative Khaled Ali Ali Haj.

Earlier this month, a strategy paper posted on a website and signed by Muqrin listed Jews, Americans and Britons as main targets and called on militant cells worldwide to “turn the infidels’ lands into hell”.