Al-Qaeda deputy praises Zarqawi

Pictures of Zarqawi's body were put on display by the US

Osama Bin Laden's deputy has praised the slain leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in a videotape aired by Arabic TV channel al-Jazeera.

Ayman al-Zawahri hailed Zarqawi - who died in a US air strike on 7 June - as "a hero" and "the prince of martyrs".

The broadcast showed the al-Qaeda deputy leader wearing a white robe and black turban. Behind him was a picture of a smiling Zarqawi.

Zawahri also attacked Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

Zawahri is believed to be hiding in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In the broadcast, he says the Americans "are not facing individuals but the whole of the Muslim nation".

It is his first public comment by Zawahri since Zarqawi's death.

Shortly after he was killed, however, a statement on an Islamist website, purportedly from al-Qaeda, said: "The death of our leaders... only makes us more determined to continue the jihad."