An audiotape purportedly made by al-Qaida-linked terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi encouraged his fighters in Fallujah and said victory was near.Go get 'em, guys! Wish I could be there with you!
The tape surfaced Friday on an Internet site known as a clearinghouse for militant Muslim comment. Its authenticity could not be confirmed. "As for you heroes of Islam in Fallujah, praise for your Jihad, praise for your nation, praise for your religion. (Have) one hour's patience, and then you will see the results," the speaker said after identifying himself as al-Zarqawi.
Yeah, in one hour, you'll probably be dead. But I'll be he won't.
"Rejoice my nation. There is no doubt that God's victory is on the horizon," the speaker said, adding a challenge to "the Americans to show the truth of what goes on on the battleground."
You mean the kicking your ass part? This guy reads too much Jihad Unspun.
The speaker also said Kurds and Shiites serving with the Iraqi forces have "sold their religion" and claimed the U.S.-Iraqi offensive in Fallujah had been blessed by "the infidel's imam," Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Al-Sistani, the leading Shiite cleric in Iraq, has issued no public statement on the Fallujah fighting. His silence is resented by radical Sunnis, who expected him to condemn the assault on the city.
Looks like the infidel's imam likes to pick winners.
The statement appeared as American and Iraqi soldiers pushed deeper into the southern reaches of Fallujah, cornering militants being backed into smaller pockets of the city, on the fourth day of an offensive launched in part to clear out militants linked to the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi. In an unusual written introduction, al-Iraqi said the recording was "short and hasty" because of the "grave" circumstances. A longer statement would follow in which al-Qaida strategy would be outlined, al-Iraqi said.
I'll be praying for you, boys. Don't let me down. Don't forget to write...