Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden accused the United States in a
statement posted on the Internet on Saturday of having a plot to
take control of Iraq's oil.
Al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden talks at a news conference in Afghanistan in this
May 26, 1998 file photo.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)
In the statement, bin Laden also accused Washington of seeking
to build military bases in Iraq and dominate the region.
The United States is making efforts to rebuild a pro-Washington
national unity government in Iraq, which is meant "to give the
Americans all they wish of Iraq's oil", said the statement, urging
Iraqis to reject it.
Iraqis must reject the envisaged plan and those who join tribal
councils fighting al-Qaida or take part in any unity government
would be turning their backs on Islam, bin Laden warned in the
statement.
He, meanwhile, made a sharp threat of attacks against Israel by
saying that "I would like to assure our people in Palestine that we
will expand our jihad (holy war) there."
"We intend to liberate Palestine, the whole of Palestine from
the (Jordan) river to the sea" with "blood for blood, destruction
for destruction", he vowed.
(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2007)
