Zawahri praised attacks on US troops in audio tape

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10661198.htm

Zawahri praised attacks on US troops in audio tape

DUBAI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri praised Islamic militants in Iraq, saying they were forcing U.S. troops to look for a way out of the Arab country, according to an audio tape posted on the Internet on Saturday.

It was not immediately clear whether segments of the tape -- dated September 2005 -- had been issued earlier, and why it was posted on an Islamist Web site so long after it was recorded.

"If it were not for the sacrifices of the mujahideen in Iraq ... there would have been no bold jihadi resistance there. It is that resistance which stabs America every day and makes it scream and search feverishly for a way out of its predicament there."

The speaker, who sounded like earlier recordings attributed to Zawahri, called on Muslims to support a holy war in Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories as well as an al Qaeda campaign against Saudi Arabia's "puppet rulers".