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Cairo: The alleged leader of Al Qaida’s affiliate in Iraq called in a new posting on a militant Web Site on Thursday for attacks on Israel and the liberation of Palestine, proposing that Iraq's territory be used as a "launching pad" to seize Occupied Jerusalem.
In the 30 minute audiotape, Abu Omar Al Baghdadi, who heads the Islamic State of Iraq, lashed out at Arab and Palestinian groups, especially the Palestinian Hamas, for failing to liberate Palestine.
He also called on Hamas' military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, to break away from the group's political leadership and liberate Jerusalem, or Al Quds as the city is called in Arabic.
The new posting came as Israeli security instructed embassies and Jewish institutions around the world to go on alert for fear of revenge attacks for a car bomb that killed a top-wanted terrorist, Imad Mughniyeh, late Tuesday in the Syrian capital.
It also came in the wake of concerns expressed this week by the director of US national intelligence that Al Qaida in Iraq is shifting its focus to attacks elsewhere in the region.
The authenticity of Thursday's audiotape could not be independently verified.
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