Bin Laden Says Fighting in Iraq Muslims' Duty - Web
By REUTERS
Published: December 28, 2004
Filed at 10:43 a.m. ET
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) - An audio tape purportedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urged Muslims to wage holy war against U.S. forces and the government in Iraq, saying they would be committing ``a grave sin'' if they failed to do so.
Bin Laden urged Muslims to support the fighting with their lives or with money, saying al Qaeda spent about 200,000 euros, or about $272,000 a week on Iraqi operations.
The tape purportedly from the Saudi-born al Qaeda leader was posted on a Web site used by Islamists Tuesday, a day after U.S. officials said it was probably genuine.
Arabic Al Jazeera television aired excerpts of the tape on Monday, in which bin Laden told Iraqis to boycott Jan. 30 parliamentary elections or be branded ``infidels.''
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-security-iraq-binladen.html