Al-Qaida has posted a video on the Internet, warning that it is planning new attacks in Spain, Germany and Austria because of their military presence in Afghanistan, local press reported on Monday.
In the video, a hooded man described the Spanish government as deceiving its citizens by withdrawing troops from Iraq, but in the meantime sending 600 others to Afghanistan.
He also questioned Germany's position as to what it hopes to gain by sending 2,700 soldiers to Afghanistan, and urged the country not to follow Spain's suit.
There have been several threats by international terrorists in recent years, and this looks like just one more threat that several nations have received," said Spain's Defense Minister Jose Antonio Alonso.
The international community must never give in to terrorist demands,but we must always be on guard because terrorism is still very dangerous, he added.
Spain, the ninth largest contributor to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), currently has 700 military personnel in Afghanistan.
(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)