By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An Iraqi militant group tied to al-Qaida in Iraq announced it has launched a new fighting strategy to encompass areas in Iraq beyond Baghdad.
The audiotape, posted on Saturday on a Web site commonly used by the insurgents, purportedly bears the voice of Abu Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of The Mujahedeen Shura Council.
In the 22-minute tape, al-Baghdadi said his new operation, dubbed "Dignity," would counter US President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to join the estimated 130,000 already in Iraq.
"They have announced their new-old plan," al-Baghdadi said of the US surge. "We bring our Sunni people the good news of a plan ... wider and firmer with the power of God, that will not only include Baghdad, but all the areas inside the Islamic state."
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