Al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Muslims to make Iraq a "fortress of Islam" in an audio message marking the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion. In a nearly 16 minute message posted on the Internet, Zawahiri accused Shia Iran of seeking to annex southern Iraq and slammed the Egyptian government for "starving" its people as part of a "Zionist-American plan.
He called on extremists to fight to create a greater Muslim state after US President George W. Bush had admitted the "failure of the Crusader invasion". "We will only get our rights back with our own hands and not through beggary or fraudulent elections," he said, according to a summary released by the US-based SITE monitoring service. The message posted on militant websites contained a reference to April 8 testimony to the US Congress by the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus.
"Bush declared that he will give Petraeus all the time he needs ... which allows Bush to escape the decision to withdraw forces. By passing the problem to the next president, Bush is declaring the failure of the Crusader invasion of Iraq," Zawahiri said.
He mocked the US-backed Sunni Arab local groups formed to fight al Qaeda in Iraq. "So where are the Awakening Councils that Petraeus announced six months ago will achieve victory in Iraq? ... Are these Awakening Councils in need of someone to defend them and protect them?" Zawahiri asked.
"Very soon Iraq will become the fortress of Islam, wherefrom will start missions and brigades for the liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque" in Jerusalem, said Zawahiri, considered the leading ideologist of the Sunni organisation. It was Zawahiri's second audio message this month. On April 2, he launched a blistering attack on the United Nations. He also said that bin Laden, who like him has evaded capture, was still alive.