Bin Laden urges Iraq polls boycott

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urged Iraqis yesterday to boycott next month's elections, saying anyone who takes part would be an "infidel".

The speaker on the tape, aired by Arabic television channel Al Jazeera yesterday, also praised bloody attacks by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on US troops and government officials in Iraq, hailing the Jordanian militant as a true "soldier of God" and al Qaeda's leader in Iraq.

"This (Iraqi) constitution is blasphemous... and anyone who takes part in this election consciously and willingly is an infidel," said the speaker, whose voice sounded similar to previous bin Laden recordings.

"You have to be careful of those charlatans who, under the guise of Islamic parties, urge the people to take part in the election," he added.

Iraq is due to hold parliamentary elections on January 30 which Shi'ite Muslim groups are poised to win.

In a move threatened for weeks, the Iraqi Islamic Party said it was withdrawing from the parliamentary poll because violence in Sunni areas meant it would not be for fair to the minority which dominated the country under Saddam.

Though many Sunnis want to vote, many are afraid to and the party's decision revives debate on how Washington and its Iraqi allies can rescue the sectarian balance, and legitimacy, of the resulting assembly if Sunni Arabs stay at home on polling day.

US and Iraqi officials have warned of an increase in violence in the run-up to the election, which will see the creation of a 275-seat national assembly and a new government.

Zarqawi's Sunni Muslim militant group, Al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq, has claimed responsibility for some of the worst suicide bombings and kidnappings of foreigners in Iraq.

Washington has long maintained that Zarqawi, its number one enemy in Iraq, has links to bin Laden.

In October, Zarqawi pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in an Internet statement and yesterday, the speaker on the tape acknowledged him as the network's leader in Iraq.

"I consider the prince of the mujahideen, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi a true soldier of God," the speaker said. "He is the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq and everybody should follow him and obey him."

"Their (Zarqawi's group) brave operations against the Americans and the government of (Iraqi interim prime minister Iyad) Allawi make us happy and proud," he added.