Al-Qaida tape calls for militant unity

An al-Qaida spokesman has called for unity among Islamic militants worldwide in a new recorded message, according to US intelligence.

The 28-minute tape features al-Qaida spokesman Abu-Yahya al-Libi telling Islamic scholars to lend their weight to support the jihad, a holy obligation or struggle.

An intelligence official said this was an apparent effort to counter some Islamic scholars who are criticising al-Qaida’s violent activities, saying they did not qualify as jihad.

The video, in Arabic, was posted on a well-known radical website yesterday, the official said.

Al-Libi urges military groups to resist splitting into factions along national or political lines and to fight only for Islamic causes, according to the US government’s initial translation, the official said.