Taped Threats By Saudi Al Qaeda

Recording On Web Site Claims To Represent New Al Qaeda Leader

(AP)  An audio recording appearing on an Islamic Web site Thursday claimed to represent the new al Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia, and he promised to dispatch fighters to join the Iraqi insurgency.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the tape, posted on an Islamic Web site run by Mohammed al-Masaari, head of a Saudi opposition group called the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights in Saudi Arabia.

The tape purported to contain the voice of Saleh al-Aoofi, a fugitive who is high on Saudi Arabia's list of wanted militants. It appears to be a response to a statement posted Monday on the Internet in which Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, urged Saudi militants to help him, either by sending men to join the Iraqi insurgency or by fighting the Americans in Saudi Arabia.

The authenticity of that tape also could not be verified.

In Thursday's tape, the speaker identified as al-Aoofi addressed al-Zarqawi and fighters in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

"We will not let the crusaders (Americans) stay in the land of the Prophet Muhammad (Saudi Arabia) to plan attacks against you," the speaker said.

Al-Zarqawi and his followers are held responsible for many deadly attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and allied Iraqi security forces and army troops. The foreign fighters who have joined his group are believed to have mostly entered Iraq through Syria.

The speaker promised to send Saudi suicide bombers to join the Iraqi insurgents.

"We will send you the fighters and the martyrs whenever you need ... by God, we will make them know the meaning of terrorism," said the voice.

Al-Aoofi, a former prison guard in his late 30s, is among five militants who remain at large on the Saudi list of 26 most-wanted terror suspects. The Saudi authorities have killed and arrested many of the suspects, including the previous al Qaeda chief in Saudi Arabia — Abdulaziz al-Moqrin.