Al-Qaeda threatens war against Iran
The leader of an al-Qaeda umbrella group in Iraq, who was thought to have beeen killed by US forces, has threatened to wage war against Iran unless it stops supporting Shias in Iraq within two months.
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, head of the Islamic State in Iraq, said his Sunni fighters have been preparing to wage a battle against Shia- dominated Iran.
Al-Baghdadi made the announcement in an audiotape that was posted on a web site commonly used by armed groups. The 50-minute audiotape, which was released on Sunday, could not be independently verified.
US forces had earlier claimed to have killed al-Baghdadi.
Major General William Caldwell, the commander of the multinational force in Iraq, told a press conference in Baghdad that US forces had killed Muharib Abdulatif al-Juburi on May 1.
Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, operations director at the Iraqi interior minister, told state television that al-Juburi was also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.
Audiotape
"We are giving the Persians, and especially the rulers of Iran, a two- month period to end all kinds of support for the Iraqi Shia government and to stop direct and indirect intervention ... otherwise a severe war is waiting for you," al-Baghdadi said.
Iraq's Shia-led government is backed by the US but closely allied to Iran.
The United States accuses Iran of arming and financing Shia militias in Iraq, charges Tehran denies.
In the recording, al-Baghdadi also gave Sunnis and Arab countries doing business in Iran or with Iranians a two-month deadline to cease their ties.
"We advise and warn every Sunni businessman inside Iran or in Arab countries especially in the Gulf not to take partnership with any Shia Iranian businessman, this is part of the two-month period," he said.
Al-Baghdadi said his group was responsible for two suicide truck bomb attacks in May in Iraq's northern Kurdish region. He said the attacks in Irbil and Makhmur showed the "Islamic jihad" was progressing in the Kurdish areas.
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<http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=21354> First Published 2007-07-09, Last Updated 2007-07-09 12:55:30
Iraq's Al-Qaeda threatens to attack Iran
Islamic State of Iraq gives Iran two-month ultimatum to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs or face all-out war.
DUBAI - The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq has given Iran a two-month ultimatum to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs or face all-out war, according to an audiotape posted on the Internet on Monday.
"We give... the leaders of Iran a period of two months to stop all forms of support to the rejectionists of Iraq, and stop direct and indirect interference in the affairs of the Islamic state," said a voice attributed to the group's leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.
The term rejectionists is used by Sunni militant groups to refer to Shiites, who dominate the government in Iraq and are in a majority in both Iraq and neighbouring Iran.
"Otherwise, expect a fierce war that will annihilate you, which we have been preparing for over the past four years and just waiting to issue the orders to wage the campaign," the voice said.
The tape was posted on a website usually used by Islamist militant groups but its authenticity could not be verified. The Islamic State of Iraq is an alliance of Sunni groups led by Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The voice said the war would strike "every spot" where Iranians can be found and warned Sunni merchants in Iran and the Arab world -- "mainly Gulf states"-- to stop dealing with Shiite traders.
"They (Sunni merchants) are included in the two-month period to stop all kinds of partnership with them... After that, any kind of trade with them will be a target," he said.
Baghdadi also called on Sunni Muslims worldwide to prepare for the war, and those in Shiite dominated Iran.
"You have a historic opportunity to get your rights, starting with self-ruling, and ending with a just punishment to everyone who stepped on your dignity," he said.
Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned late June that Al- Qaeda extremists in Iraq had "wide-ranging and dangerous plans" to destabilise neighbouring countries.
The United States has long accused Iran of fomenting the conflict in Iraq by arming and training fighters, claims denied by Tehran.