The Taliban's elusive leader Mullah Mohammed Omar has issued a fresh order for jihad or holy war against U.S. 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 U.S. military headquartered north of Kabul at Bagram Air Base say they don't expect the war in Iraq to cause a deterioration in their security situation.
But Taliban loyalists hiding in Pakistan's tribal regions told The Associated Press in recent interviews 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.
Since the conflict in Iraq began, Afghanistan has been rattled by one incident after another.
In southern Afghanistan the spiritual heartland of the Taliban militia an International Red Cross worker was shot and killed; U.S. Special Forces were ambushed and two U.S. servicemen killed; the international peacekeeping headquarters in Kabul has been rocketed; and there have been several small scale attacks targeting international troops and their Afghan allies.
The small pamphlets that had been circulated by Taliban, Hekmatyar and al-Qaida operatives have given way to poster-size warnings to international forces.
The latest warning, a 61 centimeter by 46 centimeter (24 inch by 18 inch) poster, combines verses from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, explaining jihad or holy war. It is written in Pashtu, the native language of Afghanistan's majority Pashtuns and the ethnic group from which the Taliban foot soldiers were drawn.
"Being a leader of Muslims, I accept that jihad against U.S. troops is our duty and everyone who assists Americans in executing their mission is liable to death," Omar warns.
"There are only two symbols left in the world today: One is Islam, which is a religion of peace, and the other symbol is (U.S. President George W.) Bush, who is a symbol of terror and hatred," Omar said.