BAGHDAD (AP) — The leader of the extremist group that has
overrun parts of Iraq and Syria has called on Muslims around the world
to flock to territories under his control to fight and build an Islamic
state.
In a recording posted online Tuesday, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
declared he wants to turn the enclave his fighters have carved out in
the heart of the Middle East into a magnet for militants. He also
presented himself as the leader of Islam worldwide, urging Muslims
everywhere to rise up against oppression.
The audio message came
two days after al-Baghdadi’s group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant, unilaterally declared the establishment of an Islamic state, or
caliphate, in the land it controls. It also proclaimed al-Baghdadi the
caliph, and demanded that all Muslims around the world pledge allegiance
to him.
His group’s forceful seizure of territory and its grand
pronouncement of a caliphate have transformed the Iraqi-born al-Baghdadi
into one of the leading figures of the global jihadi movement, perhaps
even eclipsing al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri.
The blitz across
Iraq has pushed the death toll there to levels unseen since the worst
sectarian bloodletting in 2006 during the U.S. occupation. The United
Nations said Tuesday that more than 2,400 Iraqis were killed last month.
That tally would make June the deadliest month in Iraq since at least
April 2005, when The Associated Press began tracking casualty figures
there.
After melting away in the initial onslaught, Iraq’s
military and security forces have regrouped and managed to stem the tide
at the outskirts of Shiite-dominated regions. The country’s political
leaders, however, have been unable to bridge their differences to
confront the militant threat, and failed again in parliament Tuesday.
In
his 19-minute address, al-Baghdadi said the Islamic state was a land
for all Muslims regardless of nationality, telling them it "will return
your dignity, might, rights and leadership."
"It is a state where
the Arab and non-Arab, the white man and black man, the easterner and
westerner are all brothers," he said, trying to broaden his base beyond
the Middle East. "Muslims, rush to your state. Yes, it is your state.
Rush, because Syria is not for the Syrians, and Iraq is not for the
Iraqis. The Earth is Allah’s."
To help build that state, he
appealed to those with practical skills — scholars, judges, doctors,
engineers, former soldiers and people with administrative expertise — to
"answer the dire need of the Muslims for them."
He also urged militants to escalate fighting in the holy month of Ramadan, which began Sunday.
"In
this virtuous month or in any other month, there is no deed better than
jihad in the path of Allah, so take advantage of this opportunity and
walk the path of your righteous predecessors," he said. "So, to arms, to
arms, soldiers of the Islamic state, fight, fight."
In an appeal
to Muslims worldwide, he said: "The time has come for you to free
yourself from the shackles of weakness, and stand in the face of
tyranny."
The message was posted on militant websites where the
group has issued statements before, and the voice resembled that on
other recordings said to be by al-Baghdadi, who has rarely been
photographed or appeared in public.
Al-Baghdadi’s group has
already attracted jihadi fighters from across the Arab world, the
Caucasus and extremists from Europe and some from the U.S. In a few
short years, the organization has been transformed from an al-Qaida
affiliate in Iraq into a transnational military force that has conquered
and held a massive chunk of territory. Al-Qaida’s al-Zawahri expelled
al-Baghdadi from the terrorist network earlier this year.
In the
past year alone, al-Baghdadi’s group — which has changed its name to
simply the Islamic State, dropping the reference to Iraq and the Levant —
has managed to effectively erase the Syria-Iraq border and lay the
foundations of its proto-state.
The Sunni insurgents’ advance in
Iraq appears to have crested, at least for now, as it reaches
Shiite-majority areas, where resistance is tougher, and as it seeks to
consolidate its control of the territory already in hand.
But the
group has continued to advance in Syria. On Tuesday, it captured the
town of Boukamal near the Iraqi border. Its fighters advanced toward
Shuheil, to the northwest, a stronghold of its al-Qaida-linked rival,
the Nusra Front. As fighting intensified in the area Tuesday, thousands
of Shuheil’s residents were seen fleeing the town, the Britain-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Al-Baghdadi’s group also
held a triumphant parade Monday in Raqqa, the largest city it controls
in Syria. Fighters drove through the streets displaying material
apparently captured in Iraq — U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machineguns,
tanks and armored personnel carriers, and a flatbed truck carrying what
appeared to be a Scud missile.
Online video showed militants
carrying automatic rifles and black flags, sitting atop vehicles and
driving through Raqqa, honking amid occasional bursts of gunfire. The
video appeared genuine and matched AP reporting of the event.
The
Obama administration has been hesitant to send much military aid to Iraq
for fear of dragging the U.S. into another years-long Mideast war.
President Barack Obama has ruled out sending in combat troops after
withdrawing U.S. forces in 2011, but this week sent more soldiers to
Baghdad to help bolster the U.S. Embassy. All told, officials said,
there are about 750 U.S. troops in Iraq — about half of which are
advising Iraqi counterterrorism forces.
Meanwhile, Iraq is increasingly turning to other governments like Iran, Russia and Syria for help.
Such
an alliance could test the Obama administration’s influence overseas
and raise risks for the U.S. as some of its main global opponents
consider joining forces.
In Washington, Iraqi Ambassador Lukman
Faily said Baghdad would prefer to work with the U.S. but warned delays
in U.S. aid have forced Iraq to seek help elsewhere.
"Time is not on our side," Faily said. "Further delay only benefits the terrorists."

In
Baghdad, the new parliament deadlocked less than two hours into its
first session when minority Sunnis and Kurds walked out, dashing hopes
for the quick formation of a government.
Iraqi politicians are
under pressure to form a more inclusive government that can bring
backing from the Sunni Muslim minority, which holds deep grievances with
Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Maliki, who has held the post
since 2006, is being pressed to step aside, with even some of his
former allies blaming his failure to promote reconciliation for fueling
Sunni support for the insurgency.
Acting speaker Mahdi al-Hafidh
ended the proceedings after most of the 328-member legislature’s Sunni
and Kurdish lawmakers did not return from a short break, depriving
parliament of a quorum.
The impasse prolonged what has already
been days of intense jockeying among blocs trying to decide on a prime
minister, president and parliament speaker.
The main sticking
point is the job of prime minister, who holds the main levers of power.
Under an informal system that took hold after the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion, the prime minister is chosen from the Shiite community, the
president from the ethnic Kurdish minority, and the speaker of
parliament from the Sunni community.
Al-Maliki has shown no
willingness to bow out. His bloc won the most votes in April elections,
which traditionally would give him first crack at forming a government.
Sunni
lawmaker Hamid al-Mutlaq said the Sunnis walked out because they feel
they need more time to reach an understanding to "change the course that
has led the country to the current disaster."
"We do not want
only to discuss the distribution of posts and the names of the
candidates," he told AP. "Rather, we think we need to discuss how to
change the behavior of the failing government."
Meanwhile, U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked Saudi Arabia for contributing $500
million to the United Nations for humanitarian aid that will help
support "the millions of Iraqi men, women and children whose lives have
been torn apart by the conflict," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
___
Associated
Press writers Sinan Salaheddin, Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub
in Baghdad, Zeina Karam in Beirut, Edith M. Lederer at the United
Nations and Lara Jakes and Robert Burns in Washington D.C. contributed
to this report.