Morocco takes fresh Qaeda threat seriously: interior minister

MARRAKESH, Morocco (AFP) - Morocco takes seriously a new threat made by Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri, who called for holy war against North African leaders in an audiotape message, the interior minister said Sunday.

"As I have always stressed, I believe the terrorist threat is permanent and we must be extremely vigilant of it," Chakib Benmoussa told AFP when asked about Zawahiri's message before a meeting here with his French counterpart Michele Alliot-Marie.

"We never neglect any risk ... We are integrating it in the reflections which we are having today on how to face up to external risks," he added.

The two ministers are scheduled to take part in a four-day Interpol annual general assembly which gets underway in Marrakesh Monday.

Zawahiri called for a holy war against North African leaders and their French, Spanish and US allies in an audiotape message broadcast Saturday in which he announced a new Libyan arm of the militant network.

In the message released on the Internet, he also called on members of Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement to overthrow the Palestinian president, saying he had turned the movement into an "annex of the CIA".

He urged militants to target US, French and Spanish interests in North African countries in the recording, the authenticity of which could not immediately be verified.

He also called for the overthrow of the leaders of Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco over their support for Washington's so-called war on terror.

"Support... your children in fighting our enemies and cleansing our lands of their slaves (Moamer) Kadhafi, Zine El Abidine (Ben Ali), (President Abdelaziz) Bouteflika and (King) Mohammed VI," he said.