| An Islamic website on Tuesday published a statement purporting to be from an Iraqi group threatening Turkey and Jordan with painful reprisals unless they closed their embassies in Iraq and left the oil-rich country. "We demand that the Jordanian and Turkish governments close their embassies in Iraq and leave the country because of their attitude in terms of supplying ... the invading forces in our country, which encourges them to prolong their stay in Iraq," the statement said. The statement was signed by "the Al-Hussein Islamic brigades" and published on the site www.islamic-minbar.com. The group, which gave no indication of its political leanings or its representation inside Iraq said: "If this demand is not met, we will, in our own way, carry out painful reprisals." The authenticity of the text has not been confirmed. The group also urged the Shiite clergy in Iraq to "issue a fatwa calling for a jihad" or holy war. A large number of Turks and Jordanians are active in Iraq, where a host of armed groups hostile to US forces have created an atmosphere of insecurity by launching attacks and taking foreigners hostage. |