Bin Laden urges Iraq rebel unity

The world’s most wanted man Osama bin Laden urged insurgent groups in Iraq to rise above their differences, saying divisions only helped the enemy, in an audio recording on Monday.

"The interest of the Islamic nation surpasses that of a group ... the interest of the (Islamic) nation is more important than that of a state," said a voice which sounded like the al-
Qaeda leader's in the tape.

In the message addressed to "my brother fighters in Iraq", the purported voice of bin Laden called on the insurgent groups to fulfill their "duty" to unite "so that they become one, as God wants."

"My brothers, emirs of the mujahedeen, Muslims are waiting for you to gather under one banner so that justice can be served," said the voice.

Bin Laden, in the tape whose authenticity could not immediately be confirmed, said some fighters had committed "mistakes" -- without elaborating -- and called for insurgents not to follow "their leaders and groups blindly".

He urged fighters "to beware of sectarianism and not to join up to a party of men, groups or nations. We are brothers in faith because we belong to Islam and not to a tribe, an organization or a country."

The tape is the latest by the head of the terror network since September 20, when bin Laden called for jihad, or holy war, against Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf over his administration's support for Washington.

Bin Laden further called for "honest men of faith ... to exert efforts to unify the ranks of the fighters and to continue without tiring on the path to achieving that".

Last month, bin Laden issued three messages, including a video marking al Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington in which about 3,000 people were killed.

Bin Laden said in the video that United States was vulnerable despite its power and insisted only conversion to
Islam would end the conflict.