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On Dec. 7, Al Jazeera television broadcast a videotape in which al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri calls on all insurgent groups in Iraq to unite against coalition and Iraqi government forces. Moreover, al-Zawahiri urges jihadists to target oil infrastructure in the Persian Gulf region.
The statement is important because this is the first time any top al Qaeda leader has specifically urged attacks against oil infrastructure. Also noteworthy, however, are the strange circumstances surrounding the tape's public airing. In fact, portions of this same videotape aired on Al Jazeera on Sept. 19 -- meaning this is not a new threat, but one that for one reason or another never saw the light of day until now. The new Al Jazeera broadcast followed the statement's appearance on a jihadist Web site hours earlier.
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