'Saddam' urges Iraqis to fight on

The tape is the latest in a series supposedly from Saddam Hussein

A new audio tape purported to be of Saddam Hussein has been aired by the Arabic al-Jazeera satellite channel.

In the recording, the speaker urges Iraqis to fight US forces in Iraq and evict them from the country.

The voice calls on Iraqis to keep their nerve and says the military balance has shifted against the Americans since the end of the war.

US forces are intensifying their hunt for the deposed Iraqi leader, following the killing of his two sons and a series of raids that have netted former regime officials, and a wealth of documents.

But there is continuing resistance to the US's presence in Iraq, three months to the day after President Bush said that major combat operations in the country were at an end.

Victory is possible at any time Voice purported to belong to Saddam Hussein 'Saddam' tape: key extracts

Earlier on Friday, a US convoy came under attack in Fallujah, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad. The US said four attackers were killed in a 90-minute gun battle.

A military base for Polish forces near Baghdad also came under fire.

Five mortar shells hit the edge of the base in Hilla but there were no casualties, Polish officials said.

And a gasoline pipeline near the Baiji refinery in northern Iraq was still on fire on Friday following a large blast overnight which reports said was caused by saboteurs.

Saddam Hussein himself has a $25m bounty on his head.

The US occupation forces believe his followers are behind many of the guerrilla-style attacks launched against them.

Saddam 'disguise'

Units hunting the deposed leader have been given new photographs showing how he may look if he has disguised himself during his months on the run, a military spokesman told Reuters.

"They are a series of photos that are digitally enhanced to show Saddam in various states - shaven, unshaven, bald and all the things of that nature," Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Gainer said.

Attacks on US forces show few signs of abating

The latest broadcast comes three days after the last message attributed to Saddam Hussein, which acknowledged the deaths of his sons in a fight with US forces.

In the latest tape, the speaker accuses some Iraqis of losing "their sense of balance during the war... and afterwards".

He says "only the actions of the faithful who struggled and fought can evict the invaders".

In the message, the speaker urges Iraqis to retain state property to use in the "glorious resistance".

He expressed confidence that "one day the occupation army will falter and that victory is possible at any moment".

The speaker said the tape was made on Sunday.

The CIA said that recording was almost certainly authentic.

US forces have recently intensified the search for Saddam Hussein, who has not been positively sighted since March.