Cairo: Al-Qaeda's No 2 Ayman al-Zawahri warned of "traitors" among insurgents in Iraq and called on Iraqi Sunni Arab tribes to purge those who help the Americans in a new videotape posted today on the web.

Al-Zawahri's comments were aimed at undermining so-called "awakening councils", the groups of Iraqi Sunni tribesmen that the US military has backed to help fight al-Qaeda in Iraq and its allies.

He also said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf "and his regime are staggering into their final days".

Al-Zawahri referred to the November 3 state of emergency declared by Musharraf and the arrests of opposition leaders that followed, calling the declaration "a fruitless American attempt to stop the deterioration in the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan".

Some Sunni insurgent groups have fought alongside American forces, and the US military has touted the awakening councils as a major factor in reducing violence in war-torn regions like Iraq's Anbar province.

In the 90-minute video, al-Zawahri warned of the "presence of hypocrites and traitors among the ranks of the mujahedeen, working and fighting for the Americans".

The mujahedeen "must throw out the bribe-taking collaborators from among their ranks, those who sold out their faith and fight under the banner of the cross. They must expose them to the Muslim world," al-Zawahri said.

"Those who support the Americans are despicable scum," he said, calling on the "noble tribes of Iraq, those that defend Islam, to stand up to this scum".

"The tribe or clan that does not cleanse itself of traitors and apostates will be remembered in history for generations as one of the collaborators and traitors," he warned.

"But any clan or tribe that defends Islam and crushes traitors ... Will be remembered in Arab history with pride and glory," al-Zawahri said.

Source : PTI