Al Qaeda's Zarqawi 'declares war' on Iraqi Shi'ites

DUBAI - Iraq's al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has declared a war on Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq in response to a US-Iraqi offensive on the rebel town of Tal Afar, according to an internet audio tape.

"Al Qaeda Organisation in Iraq ... has declared war against Shi'ites in all of Iraq," said the voice which could not be immediately verified but sounded like previous recordings attributed to Zarqawi.

"As for the government, servants of the crusaders headed by (Iraqi Prime Minister) Ibrahim Jaafari, they have declared a war on Sunnis in Tal Afar. You have begun and started the attacks and you won't see mercy from us," it added.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Sunni Muslim al Qaeda said in an internet posting it was waging a nationwide suicide bombing campaign to avenge the military offensive against Sunni rebels in Tal Afar, in which more than 200 insurgents have been killed and several hundreds captured.

Iraqi government officials have accused Sunni Arab militants of attacking Shi'ites, who swept to power in January polls boycotted by most Sunnis, in a bid to spark a civil war.

The Jordanian-born militant said Shi'ites and US forces were collaborating against Sunnis and described the offensive in Tal Afar as an "organised sectarian war".

"Days pass and battles are numbered and the goal is one: the Crusader-Shi'ite war against Sunnis. Shi'ite districts in the city were avoided and a war of ethnic cleansing war was directed at Sunnis," he said.

"The interests of Crusaders and Shi'ites have coincided with each other".

Zarqawi also warned Iraqis and tribal leaders they would be killed if they collaborated with US forces.

"Whoever is found to be a member of the National Guard, army or is a spy will be killed and his house will be demolished.

"We warn tribal leaders if it is confirmed that they are implicated with crusaders and apostates, they will be targeted," he said.

US officials said Zarqawi's apparent declaration of war against the Shi'ites could underscore disagreement between the Jordanian-born militant and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden and his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, have criticised previous attacks on Shi'ites in rhetoric viewed as strategic guidance for Zarqawi, intelligence officials say.

"Clearly they don't agree on everything. While they have some common goals, Zarqawi has his own agenda. If the tape is authentic, this would certainly indicate that," said a US official.

US intelligence was reviewing the tape to determine its authenticity, but an official noted that taped Zarqawi messages have proved authentic up to now.

Bombs exploded across Baghdad all day. In one explosion, 114 people were killed and 156 wounded when a suicide attacker lured Shi'ite labourers to his minivan and blew it up.

- REUTERS