More than a dozen insurgent factions allegedly operating in western Iraq claimed to be uniting under one previously unheard of Islamic group, according to a videotape received by AFP on Monday.
Speaking over footage of operations purportedly carried out in August and September by the various splinter groups, a voice on the tape said the factions would unite as the so-called Islamic Movement for the Mujahideen of Iraq.
The authenticity of the recording could not be independently verified.
"Many groups have been formed to fight the infidels and liberate the country and the number of individuals flocking to join the cause has been staggering," said the recorded voice.
"This created an urgent need for the groups to organize themselves better and to coordinate their effort," it added, against images of masked men preparing homemade bombs or squatting near rocket launchers in an open field.
"Our hard work has bore fruit with God's grace and we have united under the banner of the Islamic Movement for the Mujahideen of Iraq."
The group's logo is a map of Iraq in the colors of the black-red-and-white Iraqi flag, surrounded by a Koran, a black banner inscribed with "there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet," a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher, and an automatic rifle.
The tape then shows footage of the battalions' alleged operations apparently concentrated in the area stretching west along the Euphrates river from the restive city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
In one operation claimed by the group, missiles are shown being fired across central Ramadi at a building seemingly occupied by US troops.
Another shows an alleged attack against a military convoy in the nearby town of Khalidiyah.
On Monday medics said three people were killed in clashes between insurgents and US Marines in Ramadi. The US military said two convoys were hit with roadside bombs in the area.
On Saturday a suicide car bomb attack against a police training academy in Khan Al Baghdadi, northwest of Ramadi, killed 19 people and wounded another 47.
US officials believe 12,000 hard-core resistance fighters, both local and foreign, are operating in Iraq.
The number swells to 20,000 if sympathizers and accomplices are included - far larger than previous estimates - The New York Times reported on October 22.
AFP
Iraqi insurgents claim unity under one banner
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