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Message Purportedly From Al-Qaeda No. 2 Aired


1 October 2004 -- The Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeera today aired an audiotape purportedly from Al-Qaeda senior lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The voice on the tape urges resistance in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestinian territories, and Chechnya.

"We should not wait until U.S., British, French, Jewish, South Korean, Hungarian, or Polish forces enter Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen, and Algeria before we resist. We should start the resistance right now," the speaker says.

The voice urges attacks on U.S. and British forces everywhere and claims it is the duty of every Muslim to liberate Palestine.

There has been no verification yet that the voice on the tape is that of al-Zawahiri.

Al-Zawahiri is believed to be behind only Osama bin Laden in the Al-Qaeda chain of command.

(AP/Reuters/AFP)

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