Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in an audio recording posted on Islamist websites Tuesday, called for intensified fighting against US-led forces in Iraq.

 

The excerpts of the audio recording were aired by the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television on Monday, said the websites.

 

According to the report, the al-Quida leader also called for a holy war against a proposed peacekeeping force in Sudan's war-torn region of Darfur and Western forces in the Arabian Peninsula.

 

Bin Laden, meanwhile, made a plea to Muslims to join the battle to drive out foreign forces from the region and plunge into war against rulers who facilitate their presence.

 

It is the duty of the people of Islam in Sudan and the Arabian Peninsula "to perform jihad (holy war) against the Crusader invaders and wage armed rebellion to remove those who let them in," said a speaker presumably to be the al-Qaida leader.

 

In the audiotape message, bin Laden called for Iraqi insurgents' unity, warning against any divisions.

 

He also asked insurgents to admit their mistakes, saying "everybody can make a mistake, but the best of them are those who admit their mistakes."

 

The speaker also said that he advises "himself, Muslims in general and brothers in al-Qaida everywhere" not to be extreme.

 

The tape of bin Laden is the latest one since Sept. 20, when the leader of al-Qaida network called for jihad, or holy war, against Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf over his administration's support for the United States.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2007)