In a rare video posted on the Internet, al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi accused the West and the United States of waging a "Crusader" war against Islam, but said Muslim holy warriors were standing firm.
Video courtesy of Channel 2
He also said the formation of a new government in Iraq was an attempt to help the United States get out of the dilemma that al-Zarqawi said it faces in Iraq.
"Your mujahideen sons were able to confront the most ferocious of Crusader campaigns on a Muslim state. They have stood in the face of this onslaught for three years," Zarqawi said on the video.
"When the crusader enemy entered Iraq, he intended to control the Islamic nation and supported the Zionist state," Said Zarqawi, who was clad in black and a green vest with an assault rifle by his side.
Zarqawi, who has earlier issued his messages via audio recordings, was also shown training with a group of masked men outdoors.
The video came just two days after a highly publicized call to arms by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden - on an audiotape played on Arab television - that encouraged Muslims to support his group in its war with the West.
It also came a day after a triple bombing
at a resort in Egypt that killed at least 24 people, including 21 Egyptians and three foreigners.
It was not possible to immediately confirm the authenticity of the video, but it was posted on a web site that al-Zarqawi's group often uses to post Internet messages.
RSS
