Al-Qaeda says its war continues

Ayman al-Zawahri says the jihad continues

The military commander of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network has pledged to continue its "holy war" despite US military attempts to destroy it.

Speaking on a videotape broadcast by the Qatari TV channel al-Jazeera, Ayman al-Zawahri said the Palestinian question was and would remain the greatest motive for Muslims to attack the United States.

Let the United States mobilise whatever it can and let it lie as it wishes - the entire world will know after the coming strikes, God willing, who is the liar and who is honest

Ayman al-Zawahri

The military commander of al-Qaeda, which Washington suspects of the 11 September terror attacks on America and other atrocities, said it was dedicated to driving "the US-Jewish soldier" out of "Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula and all Muslim countries".

The network sought to "liberate" Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem and Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, he said.

US campaign ridiculed

Mr al-Zawahri said US might was "nothing compared to that of God" and he accused America of having killed more than 1,600 civilians in Afghanistan.

"Bush... claims that he destroyed the al-Qaeda organisation and tore the Taleban lines to pieces," he said.

"But the entire world is ridiculing his lies as it sees his large-scale military campaign ending up only one month after it started, in the killing of over 1,600 innocent civilians, elderly, women and children."

Osama Bin Laden has also made statements on al-Jazeera TV

He added that "the entire world [would] know after the coming strikes... who [was] the liar and who [was] honest".

It was not clear if by "coming strikes" he meant attacks by the United States or by al-Qaeda.

Dr al-Zawahri appeared to have recorded the tape in the past 24 hours as he referred a speech by Mr Bush in Atlanta on Thursday.

Fifth videotape

He spoke sitting against a brown background with an AK-47 rifle by his side.

He wore white robes and a turban with a grey outer garment and read from a statement in his hands.

It was the fifth videotape from al-Qaeda that al-Jazeera has broadcast since the US-led air strikes on Afghanistan began on 7 October.