AP Excl, Uzbek militant in Pakistan calls for suicide attacks

SHOTLIST ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 1. Uzbek militant, Tahir Yuldash meeting with his companions, all carrying weapons 2. Tahir and his companions looking the map 3. SOUNDBITE: (Dari) Tahir Yuldash, Uzbek militant: "I request them (mujahedeen) to strengthen their operations and suicide attacks against enemies of Muslims, the Quran and Islam and also I ask them to continue their fighting against Jews, Christians and hypocrites." ++DAY SHOTS++ 4. Various of Yuldash and other companions marching in hilly area carrying weapons 5. SOUNDBITE: (Dari) Tahir Yuldash, Uzbek militant: "The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is under the leadership of Amir ul-Mominineen (leader of the believers) Mullah Mohammad Omar. We follow Shariah (Islamic law) and we want Islam and Quran to be practiced all over the world." 6. Various of Yuldash addressing companions 7. SOUNDBITE: (Dari) Tahir Yuldash, Uzbek militant: "God willing the mujahedeen will continue their holy war in Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially after the incident in Lal Masjid (Mosque) in Islamabad. Muslims in Pakistan are awake now and together Uzbeks and Pakistanis will avenge those people killed there, especially our sisters and mothers and all other Muslims who were killed in Lal Masjid." 8. Yuldash speaking with companions, map in front of him 9. Wide of Yuldash and companions offering prayers 10. Yuldash's companions marching in hilly area carrying weapons STORY LINE An Uzbek militant leader at the Pakistan-Afghan border has called for followers to launch suicide attacks and declared his loyalty to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. In a rare video interview recorded last month and obtained this week by the Associated Press Television News, Tahir Yuldash said allies of America, including in Afghanistan or Pakistan, were legitimate targets. "I request them (mujahedeen) to strengthen their operations and suicide attacks against enemies of Muslims, the Quran and Islam and also I ask them to continue their fighting against Jews, Christians and hypocrites," Yuldash, leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) said. Followers of the IMU fled to Pakistan's tribal region of Waziristan after the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan after the US-led invasion in late 2001. The group is widely regarded as having ties to al-Qaida, but Yuldash said he regards the reclusive Taliban chief Omar, who once ruled Afghanistan, as his leader although he added that the IMU group retains ties with militants from other countries, including Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia and Chechnya. "The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is under the leadership of Amir ul-Mominineen (Leader of the believers) Mullah Mohammad Omar. We follow Shariah (Islamic law) and we want Islam and Quran to be practiced all over the world," Yuldash said. Yuldash, wearing a long white turban and a beard, is interviewed in a room against the backdrop of a map of the world, an AK-47 assault rifle and a black jihadist flag. A laptop sits on the desk in front of him. He speaks in Dari, the main language in Afghanistan. Yuldash was reportedly injured in fighting with Pakistan's army in South Waziristan in 2004 but he appears healthy in the video. The US military in Afghanistan is offering a 200-thousand US dollars reward for information leading to his capture. Other footage shows Yuldash walking through a wooded hillside, carrying a rifle. He can also be heard addressing followers in Pashto and Uzbek languages. Some scenes show scores of men praying at a dried-mud compound and armed militants walking on a forested mountainside. The video CD, recorded around September 11-12 2007 at an undisclosed location, was obtained by AP Television in northwestern Pakistan. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a5b625c8a7252a5a1027a0812803bb8d Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork