New Al Qaeda Terror Video

In a newly released videotape, Ayman al-Zawahri, the number two leader of the al Qaeda terrorist organization, addresses himself to the people of Afghanistan – where a new wave of violence began several months ago and has been intensifying ever since.

In the video, al-Zawahri calls on Afghans to rise up against the U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, who last week began a new offensive aimed at rooting out strongholds of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist group ousted by the U.S. in the beginning of the war.

Four U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday in that military operation, which involves thousands of troops and is the biggest mission since 2001, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in search of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Thursday, hours after the latest al Qaeda video and its exhortations were posted on an Islamic web site, Afghan Hamid Karzai fired back in the war of words, blaming al Qaeda deputy al-Zawahri for Afghanistan's massive suffering before and after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"He is first the enemy of the Afghan people, and then the enemy of the rest of the world," said Karzai. "He killed Afghans for years - thousands - and then he went to America and destroyed the twin towers... We in Afghanistan want him arrested and put before justice."

Karzai went on to urge the international community to reassess its approach to the war on terror Thursday, saying the deaths of hundreds of Afghans in fighting with U.S.-led forces was "not acceptable."

A clearly frustrated Karzai said the approach being taken by coalition forces to hunt down militants does not focus on the roots of terrorism itself.

"I strongly believe ... that we must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation," said Karzai.

The posting of the video followed a coalition military warning Wednesday that "significant violence" lies ahead in southern Afghanistan.

The taped message is al-Zawahri's sixth this year and was posted on a Web site known as a clearing house for al-Qaida and other militants' statements.

"I am calling upon the Muslims in Kabul in particular and in all Afghanistan in general and for the sake of God to stand up in an honest stand in the face of the infidel forces that are invading Muslim lands," said al-Zawahri, wearing a white turban and sitting in front of a black backdrop with an automatic rifle next to him.

The Egyptian-born fugitive also called on "the young men of Islam, in the universities and schools of Kabul, to carry out their duties in defense of their religion, honor, land and country."

The 3½-minute tape, entitled "American Crimes in Kabul," appears to have been made the day after a May 29 accident in which a U.S. military truck crashed into traffic in Kabul, killing up to five people. The incident sparked anti-foreigner riots in Kabul that left about 20 people dead - the deadliest unrest in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

"I direct my speech today to my Muslim brothers in Kabul who lived the bitter events yesterday and saw by their own eyes a new proof of the criminal acts of the American forces against the Afghani people," al-Zawahri said on the videotape.

Unlike al-Zawahri's previous messages, which appeared to be aimed at Americans, the latest video has no English subtitles. He spoke in Arabic, and Web sites carried translations in Pashtun and Farsi, two languages widely spoken in Afghanistan.

Wednesday, in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan, four U.S. soldiers were killed and another was wounded while trying to block the movement of enemy forces.

Ground troops and attack planes were called in to continue the assault through the night, but it is not clear whether there were any enemy casualties.

Afghan and coalition forces have been operating in eastern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border since mid-April, targeting al Qaeda and Taliban militants.

U.S. military officials say militants late Tuesday bombed two coalition convoys in southern Afghanistan, killing one civilian bystander and wounding 13, including six Canadian soldiers.

The attacks came as the U.S.-led coalition warned that major battles were likely to continue as Taliban fighters resist a large-scale military push in southern Afghanistan ahead of an imminent security handover to NATO-led forces.

"We are seeing the enemy operating in larger groups. They are fighting hard. They are clearly trying to stop our efforts to move into certain areas," coalition spokesman Col. Tom Collins said.

Coalition and Afghan forces launched Operation Mountain Thrust in earnest last week with more than 10,000 Afghan, British, Canadian and American troops deploying in the largest anti-Taliban offensive since the former regime's 2001 ouster.

More than 600 people, mostly militants, have been killed since May. At least 10 coalition soldiers also have been killed in combat in that time.

Al-Zawahri and Osama bin Laden were hosted by the Taliban before their ouster. They both are now believed to be hiding in the rugged border frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The new message by Al-Zawahri is part of a dramatic increase in videos and audiotapes recently by al Qaeda, including three by bin Laden.