An audio tape purportedly from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has urged Iraqis to boycott January parliamentary elections, Arabic Al Jazeera television said today.
Shortly before airing the tape, the television said bin Laden backed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the Islamist network's leader in Iraq.
Earlier this month, an audio tape purportedly from bin Laden urged militants to concentrate their attacks on Iraqi and Gulf oil facilities, saying it was the most powerful weapon against America.
After that tape was posted on the Internet, an intelligence official in Washington said an analysis had determined with "high confidence" that the tape contained the voice of bin Laden.