Zawahiri praises Iraq insurgents

It was not clear why the video was not released soon after the date it was allegedly filmed. Al Zawahri has appeared in three videotapes filmed since November, all of them aired on Al-Jazeera . Today’s video was posted on a web forum used by Islamic militants to issue public statements and videos. In the footage, al Zawahri appears sitting, wearing a white turban and a grey robe with a microphone pinned to it. An automatic weapon is leaning against a brown backdrop behind him.

‘‘The Islamic nation must support the heroic Mujahedeen (holy warriors) in Iraq, who are fighting on the very Front line for the dignity of Islam,’’ al Zawahri said.

‘‘And to my brother Mujahedeen in Iraq, I say, stay firm. Stay together. Your enemy has begun to falter, so don’t stop pursuing him untill he flees defeated,’’ he said.

He called on Muslims to support his ‘‘beloved brother’’ al Zarqawi, who heads Al-Qaeda in Iraq. ‘‘I have lived with him up close, and have seen nothing but good from him.’’