BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida chief in Iraq Abu Musab Zarqawi called on Sunni Iraqis to pull out from the political process, criticizing their participation in general elections.
In a recording attributed to Zarqawi and carried on an Islamic web site Monday, the most wanted terrorist by the U.S. lashed out mainly at the Islamic Iraqi Party, the main Sunni group, for taking part in last month's elections and urged it to pull out from the political process.
He said al-Qaida branch in Iraq was capable to sabotage the elections in several Iraqi regions "but refrained to avoid the killing of Sunni people."
"With God's help we were able to sabotage the elections but decided not to in order to avoid the killing of Sunnis who were misled and led into a trap set up for them... We had hoped to double cross the crusaders," Zarqawi said in the recording which could not be authenticated.
Zarqawi blasted the Islamic Iraqi party for approving Iraq's new constitution which boosted the position of the government which is led by Shiites and Kurds.
"We address a message to the Islamic Party calling on this group to leave that rugged path in which it engaged and which almost destroyed the Sunnis... This party should have instead called on the people to join the Jihad (Islamic holy war)," Zarqawi added.
He said al-Qaida operatives whom he described as "mujahideen" carried out 800 suicide attacks on U.S.-led multinational forces since Iraq's occupation in April 2003 until the end of last December, inflicting 40,000 casualties including dead and wounded.
