Get out of Iraq or else, 'al-Qaida' warns

A statement issued in the name of the al-Qaida terror group has warned European states they have only two weeks to withdraw troops from Iraq or face the consequences, an Arab newspaper reported in Cairo.

Asharq al-Awsat said it had received a statement from the “Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri (al-Qaida)”, the group which claimed responsibility for Madrid train bombings on March 11 that killed about 200 people.

The statement referred to the three-month ceasefire for attacks in Europe that the leader of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, declared on April 15.

“To the European people: only few days remain for you to accept the truce offered by bin Laden.

"Otherwise you will have nobody but yourself to blame,” the statement said.

In the April 15 audio tape, bin Laden gave Europeans three months to withdraw their troops from what he called the countries of the Muslim nation.

Bin Laden warned against any “aggression” against countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

At least seven European nations have troops serving in the multi-national force in Iraq: Britain (8,500 troops), Italy (3,000), Poland (2,400), Ukraine (1,576), Netherlands (1,300), Romania (700) and Denmark (500).

Asharq al-Awsat did not say how it received the statement, but previously this group has sent e-mails to newspapers.

US officials and some terrorism experts believe the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri (al-Qaida) lacks credibility and has only tenuous ties to al-Qaida.

The group claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombings, but it also claimed responsibility for events to which it was not connected – such as blackouts in North America and Britain.