Al Qaeda In Iraq Vows 'Major Attacks'

Al Qaeda in Iraq vowed on Sunday to carry out "major attacks," insisting in a Web statement that it was still powerful after the death of its leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and the top American general in Iraq says he expects them "to try to do what they said."

The statement did not name a successor to al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike last week. But it said the group's leadership "renews its allegiance" to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

It vowed "to prepare major attacks that will shake the enemy like an earthquake and rattle them out of sleep."

General George Casey said on CBS' Face The Nation that he takes the group's threat seriously, but he warned "you can't protect 100 percent from terrorist attacks."

Casey told Bob Schieffer that killing Zarqawi was a major victory against terrorists in Iraq and to al Qaeda world wide. The terror network, he said, has been shaken up, and it's latest threat is the proof.

"What we've seen in the past is that the more rhetoric there is on the Internet and on their web sites, that's a good indication to us that they're hurting," Casey said.

The authenticity of the Internet statement could not be independently confirmed. It was posted on an Islamic militant Web forum where the group has posted statements in the past.

The statement was issued in the name of al Qaeda in Iraq, but was put out by the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of five insurgent groups that al-Zarqawi helped create.

The statement said al Qaeda in Iraq's leadership met after al-Zarqawi's death and "agreed to continue jihad (holy war) and not be effected by his martyrdom."

"The organization has strengthened its back, regained its footing and has been renewed from fresh blood," it said, listing previous prominent members who had been killed without setting back the group's attacks.

"For those who were waging holy war for the sake of al-Zarqawi, al-Zarqawi is dead. But for those who were fighting for the sake of God, God is alive and eternal," it said.

The phrase echoed the words used by the Prophet Muhammad's successor, Abu Bakr, after the prophet's death in the 7th century to urge Muslims to continue spreading Islam.