Iraq al-Qaida leader declares all-out war

Al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq declared all-out war on Shiite Muslims, Iraqi troops and the country’s government in an audio tape released on the internet today.

The speaker on the tape, introduced as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, also said his militant forces would attack any Iraqi it believes has co-operated with an ongoing US-led offensive in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar.

“If proven that any of (Iraq’s) national guards, police or army are agents of the Crusaders, they will be killed and his house will demolished or burnt - after evacuating all women and children – as a punishment,” the voice said in the new tape that surfaced on an internet site known for carrying extremist Islamist content.

The speaker announced “all-out war against Shiites everywhere. Beware, there will be no mercy.”

The tape surfaced on a day when more than a dozen explosions ripped through the Iraqi capital in rapid succession, killing at least 160 people and wounding 570 in a series of attacks that al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for.

In the tape, the speaker called on Sunni Muslims in Iraq “to wake up from their slumber and rise up because the war waged to eradicate them won’t stop”.

He said “Crusaders and Shiites share a common goal to wage war against Sunnis,” adding that attacks on Sunni-dominated cities such as Tal Afar prove this.

“This battle was timed to cover up the scandal of God’s enemy, (US President George W.) Bush in failing to deal with (Hurricane) Katrina,” the speaker said.