Al-Qaeda Declares War at Musharraf

"Pervez, his ministers, his soldiers and those who help him are all accomplices in spilling the blood of Muslims," bin Laden said.

"Pervez, his ministers, his soldiers and those who help him are all accomplices in spilling the blood of Muslims," Osama bin Laden said in an audiotape produced by Al-Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab and monitored by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

"It is obligatory on the Muslims in Pakistan to carry out jihad and fighting to remove Pervez, his government, his army and those who help him," he claimed.

The recording was accompanied by video footage of the Western world's most wanted man, including scenes of him firing a machine gun and walking in a mountainous area with his second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri.

In another video, Zawahiri warned that Musharraf would be "punished" over the bloody commando operation against Islamabad's Red Mosque in July, which claimed the lives of scores of women and children.

"Let the Pakistani army know that the killing of Abdul Rashid Ghazi and his male and female students and the demolishing of his masjid and two madrasahs has soaked the history of the Pakistan army in shame and despicableness which can only be washed away by retaliation against the killers of Abdul-Rashid Ghazi and his students."

In the 81-minute tape, the bearded and bespectacled Zawahiri branded Pakistani security forces as US President George Bush's "hunting dogs."

Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, remains chief of the Pakistani army.

He is Washington's key ally in its so-called war on terror.

Escalation

Experts believe the latest audiotape, the third posting featuring a new message from bin Laden to appear this month, might further complicate the situation for Musharraf.

"The imminent call by bin Laden to fight against Musharraf demonstrates Al-Qaeda's long-standing and deep hatred for the Pakistani regime, its principal enemy in the region," said Yasser Serri, director of the London-based Islamic Observatory.

"The message shows Bin Laden is getting desperate and it could be a signal to sleeper cells in Pakistan to get active," a senior Pakistani security official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity.

"We may see an escalation in the continuing attacks against the security forces but this statement does show the network is feeling seriously threatened by our sustained action against them."

A series of recent suicide blasts have targeted the Pakistani military, and officials say the attacks were carried out by militants with links to Al-Qaeda and pro-Taliban fighters in Pakistan's tribal areas.

A bomber blew himself up in an army canteen not far from Islamabad a week ago, killing 20 elite commandos from an anti-Al-Qaeda unit that was involved in the Red Mosque raid.

Earlier this month another bomber killed around two dozen people on a bus carrying officials from the military's main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

The threat from bin Laden was swiftly dismissed by Pakistan.

"We are already committed to fighting extremists and terrorists -- there is no change in our policy," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP.

"If someone is hurling threats at us, that is their view. The whole nation is behind us and the Pakistan army is a national institution."

Musharraf survived at least two al Qaeda inspired assassination attempts in 2003 and there was an attempt to shoot down his plane earlier this year.

Embattled Musharraf, who derives most of his support from the army, is seeking re-election for a five-year term as president-in-uniform.

Opposition groups have threatened to quit parliament if his nomination is accepted, and have street protests planned.

Musharraf has been facing a plummeting popularity, especially since an ill-judged attempt to sack the Supreme Court chief justice last March.