An audiotape, purportedly carrying the voice of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, has been aired by an Arab satellite television network.
The man on the tape, who Dubai-based Arabic television station al-Arabiya identified as Saddam Hussein, called for Iraqi men and women to step up their fight against international occupation through increased armed attacks, protests, and financial donations to the resistance movement.
The speaker said Iraqis must conduct a holy war by "all means possible," and called for U.S. troops to withdraw unconditionally from Iraq immediately, or suffer what he said would be certain defeat.
He said U.S. withdrawal from Iraq was "inevitable."
The man also said it was hoped the U.N. Security Council would not fall into what he described as the "dark traps" of American policy.
The authenticity of the tape has not been verified. The satellite network has broadcast other tapes said to have been made by the former Iraqi leader. The last such tape was aired September first.
The whereabouts of Saddam Hussein remain unknown. There is a $25 million reward being offered for information leading to the discovery of his location.