DOHA, 19 October 2003 — Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden threatened yesterday to carry out new suicide missions in the United States and to attack any forces joining the US-led coalition in Iraq, in a tape broadcast by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera satellite channel. “We will go on fighting you and we will carry on martyrdom (suicide) operations in and outside the United States until you stop being unjust,” he warned in an audio-taped “message to the American people” aired by the Doha station.
“We reserve the right to retaliate at the proper time and place against all countries that take part in this unjust war (against Iraq), namely Britain, Spain, Australia, Poland, Japan and Italy,” said the mastermind of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings in the United States.
“Islamic countries that take part will not be excluded. This applies particularly to the Gulf states, chiefly Kuwait, (which served as) launch pad for the crusader forces.” Al-Jazeera said Bin Laden was addressing two audio messages to the Iraqi and American peoples saying that the United States “has got bogged down in Iraq and advising the US Army to leave it.”
The tape urged Iraqis to wage a holy war against American “crusaders” occupying the country. “You should carry out jihad (holy war)... You should know that this war is a new crusade against the Islamic world and is a fateful war for the whole (Muslim) nation,” the message said.
Meanwhile, Turkey said yesterday it will abandon plans to send troops to Iraq if they are unwanted in the war-ravaged country, where further violence pushed the American death toll since major combat ended in May past the 100 mark.
And as US President George W. Bush fought for funding to secure and rebuild Iraq, South Korea pledged more money and troops — but key war opponent France declined to commit to providing reconstruction assistance at next week’s donors conference in Spain.
Violence showed no sign of letting up in Iraq with four US soldiers, all with the military police, killed in two separate incidents since Thursday night. That took the death toll to 101 since Bush declared major hostilities over on May 1.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country, which yesterday sent tons of humanitarian aid to Iraq, will give up controversial plans to send peacekeeping troops there if they are not welcome.
“If we are wanted we will go, if we are not wanted we will not. We have not made a ‘must’ decision,” the Anatolia news agency quoted Erdogan as saying.
