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| Sunday, 6 July 2003 |
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'Saddam tape' urges resistance; 11 Iraqis killed BAGHDAD, Saturday (Reuters) An audio tape purporting to be from Saddam Hussein and aired by Arabic television channel al Jazeera on Friday urged Iraqis to support resistance to U.S. forces and warned Americans of more bloodshed to come. U.S. President George W. Bush, in a speech to mark America's 4 July Independence Day, said the United States was still at war, shortly after U.S. forces killed 11 gunmen who tried to ambush a patrol northwest of Baghdad on Friday. U.S. authorities said they would examine the recording, but said it was too soon to tell if the voice on the tape was indeed that of Saddam, who has not been seen in public since he was ousted from power on April 9 in the U.S.-led war on Iraq. The man's voice sounded like Saddam's and the bellicose tone of the message was similar to his previous speeches. Addressing the Iraqi people, he said: "I urge you to protect the heroic resistance fighters and not to give the infidel invaders or their aides any information or help..." It said the recording was made on June 14 from inside Iraq. In a longer version of the tape aired later by Jazeera television, the voice mocked the United States for failing to find weapons of mass destruction, which Washington gave as the main justification for its invasion. "They saw that Iraq, with its anti-Zionist stand, was a threat to their illegal aims and plots to take over the Arab nation as a first step to taking over the world. "Now that all has been revealed, I would like you, Iraqis, to ask the invaders: 'Where are the weapons that you claimed Iraq was hiding and which you used as a pretext to wage war and aggression on our country?' |
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