Topic: Qaeda in joint warning on Iraq polls

PARIS, Dec 12 (AFP) - Al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq and four other extremist
groups have warned against taking part in Thursday's general elections,
branding the polls as a "devilish plot", according to an Internet statement
posted on Monday.

"What is known as the political process is nothing but a devilish plot like
those before it to undermine the mujahedeen (holy warriors), the (Islamic)
faith and Prophet Mohammed's teachings," said the statement signed by the
Al-Taifa Mansura Army.

The group said this unified position had been agreed by itself, Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Land of the Two Rivers, and three
other groups. It was not possible to confirm the authenticity of the
statement. The message said the other groups warning on the "Crusader
plot" were the Abu Bakr al-Salafiya Brigades, the Battalions of Islamic
Jihad and the Brigades of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

It warned against taking part in the next government or forging any
agreement with it regarding the political process.

"Entering the political process, taking part in the elections or voting is
against Islamic laws and our constitution the Koran," said the statement.

It vowed that the groups would forge ahead with their jihad (holy war) until
they "establish an Islamic state ruled by the Koran and the Sunna (the
teachings and practices of the prophet)."

Al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq, headed by Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi, has
previously warned against taking part in the first election in January and
the referendum on the constitution that was held in October.

Many Sunni Muslims, who are accused of fueling the insurgency and who had
boycotted the first election, have decided to take part in the upcoming
elections, which will see Iraqis choose a new 275-member parliament for a
full four-year term.