Iraq Qaeda-linked group calls for war on Shi'ites

DUBAI, Dec 17 (Reuters) An Iraqi militant group linked to al Qaeda urged Iraq's Sunni Muslims in a Web recording posted today to wage war on the country's Shi'ite Muslims.

''Stand like one man ... and cut their (Shi'ites') throats, spill their blood, burn the ground underneath them, and rain bombs on them,'' said the speaker, who said he was the official spokesman of ''the Islamic state in Iraq''.

Iraqi Sunni militant groups including al Qaeda announced in October the creation of what they described as an Islamic state in Iraq.

''They (Shi'ites) have done more than the crusaders (US-led forces) have been doing. They killed men, rendering women widows and children orphans, burned houses of God and tore his book.'' The authenticity of the recording posted on a Web site used by Sunni militant groups could not be verified. The recording was posted today but its stated Islamic year date corresponded with Saturday.

Communal bloodshed that UN officials estimate kills more than 100 people a day has raised fears of civil war and was a major reason for US President George W Bush's decision to review his Iraq strategy.

Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called yesterday for the return of all officers of Saddam Hussein's disbanded army in an overture to disaffected Sunni Arabs aimed at reducing sectarian violence.

On the Web recording, the spokesman called on Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and other groups to ''join the ranks of your brothers in the Islamic state of Iraq''.

''God has guided the Mujahideen since the early moments of jihad to (realise) the necessity of targeting the hateful rejectionists (Shi'ites),'' he said.

''It is high time that the nation woke up from its deep sleep, both men and women, so that the ranks of all believers face the ranks of all infidels,'' he said, vowing to free Baghdad from the grip of Shi'ites and US-led forces.

The speaker also criticised Sunnis who cooperate with the Shi'ite-led government as a ''worse evil'' and signalled out Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi who he said praised Bush during his visit to Washington earlier this week.

REUTERS PDS BST0138