Warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is wanted by Washington for terrorism has distributed a video recording in southern Afghanistan urging Afghans to wage jihad against America. In the 22-minute speech on a recording filled with graphic images of carnage and violence against Muslims in Indonesia, Palestine, Iraq and elsewhere, Hekmatyar makes a passionate call for holy war.
"War in Afghanistan and Iraq is the second crusade war but the only difference is in the first crusade Italy was leading the war and this time it is America," Hekmatyar says on the CD.
The video produced by the Abdullah Islamic and Jihadi Films Center starts with the slogan: "Our jihad will continue till the destruction of America, Britain and Israel and till the liberation of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan."
Hekmatyar, who heads the fundamentalist Hezb-i-Islami guerrilla faction, has been declared a wanted terrorist by the US for his attempts to destabilise Karzai's US-backed government.
His foot soldiers are believed to be part of an alliance of al Qaeda and Taleban waging a guerrilla campaign against US and Afghan government troops in south and south-eastern Afghanistan "We have lots of young fighters who are ready to sacrifice their lives and wealth to safe the religion," he said.
The 8,000-strong ISAF multinational force is in Kabul and some northern provinces helping with security while more than 17,000 US-led soldiers are hunting militants in the south and south-east.
Hekmatyar also called on Afghans to use suicide attacks against the enemy - a recent phenomenon in Afghanistan.
"If they cannot fight in an organised front they can risk their lives and carry out suicide guerrilla attacks which have given great defeats to the enemy," Hekmatyar said.