Top al Qaeda leader urges fighters to hit White House

DUBAI - A man believed to be a top al Qaeda militant who escaped from a US jail near Kabul was shown in a new videotape broadcast on Tuesday exhorting followers in Afghanistan to fight on until they attack the White House.

"Allah will not be pleased until we reach the rooftop of the White House," Abu Yahya al-Libi was shown telling fighters in the tape aired by the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television.

The channel said the tape was one-hour long, showing footage of Libi urging fighters to train hard and even to try to acquire nuclear technology.

"You have to get well prepared by starting with exercise, and then you have to learn how to use technology until you are capable of nuclear weapons," he said.

Libi was shown in the footage bearded and wearing a long grey Muslim robe while standing in front of a group of fighters.

Libi is believed to be the alias of Libyan Mohammad Hassan who along with three other al Qaeda militants broke out of the US jail at Bagram Air Base last year.

Analysts say he is an influential militant preacher, better known for recruiting fighters than for actual combat.

Arabiya said the authenticity of the tape could not be verified, but experts had told its bureau in Afghanistan the video was filmed in the southeast of the country.

British troops in Iraq said in September they killed one of the four al Qaeda escapees - Omar Faruq, one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants - in the city of Basra.

- REUTERS