Charlotte
31-01-06, 10:13 AM
Al-Qa'eda's deputy leader has appeared in a new video, criticising Tony Blair over the war in Iraq.
Ayman al-Zawahri, in his first appearance since an American air raid targeting him this month in Pakistan, said the wives of British soldiers injured in the conflict should blame the Prime Minister.
He also said the West had turned down a truce offered by Osama bin Laden, and would suffer the consequences as a result.
He branded US President George Bush a "butcher" and threatened him with fresh terror strikes.
In the tape, shown on Arab news network Al Jazeera last night, Al-Zawahri said "Bush and his gang" were shedding the blood of American people and wasting their money on "frustrated adventures".
He added: "You, American mother, if the Pentagon calls to tell you that your son is coming home in a coffin, then remember George Bush.
"And you, British wife, if the Defence Department calls you to say that your husband is returning crippled and burnt, remember Tony Blair."
Al-Zawahri, shown in the video wearing white robes and a white turban, said America had ignored an offer from bin Laden for a truce.
"The lion of Islam, sheikh Osama bin Laden, may God protect him, offered you a decent exit from your dilemma," he said.
"But your leaders, who are keen to accumulate wealth, insist on throwing you in battles and killing your souls in Iraq and Afghanistan and - God willing - on your own land."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/
Ayman al-Zawahri, in his first appearance since an American air raid targeting him this month in Pakistan, said the wives of British soldiers injured in the conflict should blame the Prime Minister.
He also said the West had turned down a truce offered by Osama bin Laden, and would suffer the consequences as a result.
He branded US President George Bush a "butcher" and threatened him with fresh terror strikes.
In the tape, shown on Arab news network Al Jazeera last night, Al-Zawahri said "Bush and his gang" were shedding the blood of American people and wasting their money on "frustrated adventures".
He added: "You, American mother, if the Pentagon calls to tell you that your son is coming home in a coffin, then remember George Bush.
"And you, British wife, if the Defence Department calls you to say that your husband is returning crippled and burnt, remember Tony Blair."
Al-Zawahri, shown in the video wearing white robes and a white turban, said America had ignored an offer from bin Laden for a truce.
"The lion of Islam, sheikh Osama bin Laden, may God protect him, offered you a decent exit from your dilemma," he said.
"But your leaders, who are keen to accumulate wealth, insist on throwing you in battles and killing your souls in Iraq and Afghanistan and - God willing - on your own land."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/