The Arab satellite TV network al-Jazeera has aired an audiotape purportedly recorded by Osama bin Laden's top deputy in the al-Qaida terror network, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The voice on the tape calls Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf a traitor and urges all Muslims in Pakistan to overthrow his government, which it accuses of working for Americans.
The speaker, whose voice is described as sounding like that of al-Zawahiri on previous tapes, called on Pakistani soldiers to disobey the president's orders.
The tape was broadcast as Pakistani troops are battling hundreds of suspected al-Qaida fighters and their local allies in a semi-autonomous tribal region near the Afghan border. It is Pakistan's biggest military operation ever against suspected al-Qaida targets on its soil.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani army's latest deadline for the surrender of al-Qaida fighters and their release of 14 hostages passed early, Thursday. Tribal elders who have been trying to negotiate the release of the hostages for three days have reportedly been given more time. The hostages include 12 soldiers and two local officials.
Rebel tribesmen protecting the besieged fighters had been threatened with serious consequences if they failed to surrender the militants and release the hostages.
The Christian Science Monitor:
WASHINGTON - Sure Al Qaeda has been weakened, but it has transformed itself into a collection of regional terror groups that operate more autonomously and may be even more dangerous. And although Saddam Hussein has been removed, Iraq is increasingly becoming a rallying point for terrorists.
"As we continue the battle against Al Qaeda, we must overcome a movement - a global movement infected by Al Qaeda's radical agenda," said George Tenet, director of the CIA.
Mr. Tenet, along with the directors of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the FBI, laid out their world threat assessments before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee this week, and Tenet will give a similar appraisal Thursday to the Senate Armed Services Committee.