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Al-Qaeda threatens Japan, Poland, and Bulgaria
Groups purportedly linked to al Qaeda have vowed to attack Japan, Poland and Bulgaria unless they withdraw from Iraq, the latest attempts to rattle the U.S.-led coalition after Manila pulled out its troops under pressure.Japan, however, vowed on Wednesday to keep its 550 non-combat troops in place despite the threat. "For the rebuilding of Iraq, we must continue our support and not give in to terrorism," Deputy Cabinet Secretary Masaaki Yamazaki told a news conference in Tokyo. A different group claiming to be the European wing of al Qaeda warned Bulgaria and Poland of attack, the latest in a wave of warnings against U.S. allies in Iraq, where insurgency has raged since the invasion to oust Saddam Hussein last year. "To the crusader Bulgarian government which supports the Americans, we ask you for the last time to withdraw Bulgarian forces from Iraq or we will turn Bulgaria into a bloodbath," said the statement. "To Poland and the despicable Prime Minister Marek Belka, withdraw your forces from Iraq or you will hear explosions ripping through your country when we want," it added. The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed. Yamazaki said Japan was checking the credibility of a statement purportedly from a group led by Islamic militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but said its stance on Iraq remained unchanged. Japan's troops are based in the southern Iraqi town of Samawa, a spot that has seen little of the kind of violence suffered by other parts of Iraq. The threat against Poland and Bulgaria came from a previously unheard-of group and was posted on a Web site not normally used by militants. It said both countries would face attacks similar to the train bombings in Madrid in March and the September 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. cities. "We are waiting for information from other partner countries and have no confirmation that the terrorists are planning any concrete actions on Polish territory," Poland's Deputy Defence Minister Janusz Zemke said in response. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-07-21 |
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