'Bin Laden' tape asks Iraqis to shun 'infidel' poll

DUBAI - An audio tape purportedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, aired on Monday urging Iraqis to boycott January parliamentary polls and saying anyone who takes part would be an "infidel".

The speaker on the tape, excerpts of which were broadcast by Arabic television channel Al Jazeera, also praised bloody attacks by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on US troops and government officials in Iraq, hailing the Jordanian militant as a true "soldier of God" and al Qaeda's leader in Iraq.

Al Jazeera said the speaker repeated a call from an earlier tape purportedly by bin Laden for attacks on oil installations. Another part of the tape called on Muslims to boycott elections such as the Palestinian presidential polls next month, it said.

"The constitution imposed by the American occupier (Paul) Bremer is blasphemous ... and anyone who takes part in this election consciously and willingly is an infidel," said the speaker, who sounded similar to previous bin Laden recordings.

"You have to be careful of those charlatans who, under the guise of Islamic parties, urge the people to take part in the election," he added.

Iraq is due to hold parliamentary elections on Jan. 30 which Shi'ite Muslim groups are poised to win. Bremer was the former US administrator in Iraq.

On Monday, the Iraqi Islamic Party said it was withdrawing from the poll because violence in Sunni areas meant it would not be fair to the minority which dominated the country under ousted President Saddam Hussein.

Though many Sunnis want to vote, many are afraid to and the party's decision revives debate on how Washington and its Iraqi allies can rescue the sectarian balance, and legitimacy, of the resulting assembly if Sunni Arabs stay at home on polling day.

US and Iraqi officials have warned of an increase in violence in the run-up to the election, which will see the creation of a 275-seat national assembly and a new government.

US intelligence officials were conducting a technical analysis of the tape, a US official told Reuters.

The recording -- which was not dated -- followed an earlier audio tape purportedly from bin Laden in which he hailed an attack in Saudi Arabia this month, suggesting the al Qaeda leader is still alive.

Zarqawi's Sunni Muslim militant group, Al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq, has claimed responsibility for some of the worst suicide bombings and kidnappings of foreigners in Iraq.

Washington has long maintained that Zarqawi, its number one enemy in Iraq, has links to bin Laden.

In October, Zarqawi pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in an internet statement and on Monday, the speaker on the tape acknowledged him as the network's leader in Iraq.

"I consider the prince of the mujahideen, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi a true soldier of God," the speaker said. "He is the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq and everybody should follow him and obey him."

"Their (Zarqawi's group) brave operations against the Americans and the government of (Iraqi interim prime minister Iyad) Allawi make us happy and proud," he added.

Earlier this month, an audio tape purportedly from bin Laden urged militants to focus attacks on Iraqi and Gulf oil facilities, saying that was the most powerful weapon against the United States.

After that tape was posted on the internet, an intelligence official in Washington said an analysis had determined with "high confidence" the tape contained the voice of bin Laden. The United States says bin Laden, blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks on US cities, is probably hiding in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

- REUTERS