Islamabad: Taleban's elusive leader Mullah Mohammed Omar has issued a fresh order for jihad or holy war against US troops and Afghans who work with them, drawing parallels between Afghanistan and Iraq.

His latest decree carries the signatures of 600 Islamic clerics reminding the faithful of their duty to wage jihad and comes amid stepped up attacks against international forces in Afghanistan.

"Whenever the non-Muslims attack a Muslim land it is the duty of everyone to rise against the aggressor," reads posters that are reportedly authored by Omar and openly displayed in towns and villages in Eastern Afghanistan and in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

"We were blamed for Osama bin Laden because they said he was a terrorist and he was taking shelter with us. But what is the fault of Iraq? Iraq has no Osama bin Laden in its country," the black and white poster says.

International peacekeepers in the Afghan capital of Kabul and the US military headquartered North of Kabul at Bagram Air Base say they don't expect the war in Iraq to cause deterioration in their security situation.

But Taleban loyalists hiding in Pakistan's tribal regions said that they have regrouped and built alliances with al-Qaida and rebel warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-islami. They said the next phase would be hit-and-run attacks.

Agencies