The al Qaeda network has claimed responsibility for attacks on an Israeli airliner and hotel in Kenya which killed 16 people and vowed even more "lethal" assaults against Israel and its chief ally, the United States. "I hereby confirm what has been issued by al Qaeda political office regarding our responsibility for the Mombasa attacks in Kenya," leading al Qaeda member Sulaiman Bu Ghaith said in an audio statement released on Sunday by Islamist Web site www.jehad.net.

"The Christian-Jewish alliance will not, God willing, be safe from attacks by the Mujahideen (Muslim warriors)...The alliance's installations and facilities everywhere will be subject to attacks," he said.

"The next phase will witness bigger and more lethal operations," he added. The Web site has in the past carried statements by Muslim militants, including al Qaeda.

Bu Ghaith, a former Muslim preacher and teacher, emerged as al Qaeda's spokesman after last year's September 11 attacks, which the United States blamed on the militant Islamic network.

He is a close associate of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda. Bu Ghaith is among leading al Qaeda members being sought by the United States and has been in hiding since the U.S. launched its attack on Afghanistan last October.

Bu Ghaith's statement, recorded on Saturday, urged Muslims to rise up against the United States, with "focused and lightning operations."

"The enemy should not feel safe whether on land, sea or air," he said, adding that Washington's preparations for a possible attack against Iraq aimed at killing Muslims, partitioning the country and plundering its oil wealth.

The United States and its allies want to "protect the Jewish occupiers and achieve their expansionist dream of setting up a (Jewish) state between the Nile and Euphrates," he said. The Euphrates river runs from Turkey to Iraq through Syria.

AL QAEDA FINGERPRINTS

Israel had named al Qaeda as the prime suspect in a suicide bombing at a hotel in Mombasa on November 28 that killed 13 Kenyans and three Israelis and a failed attempt to shoot down with missiles an Israeli airliner taking off nearby.

Raanan Gissin, adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said on Sunday: "We said all the time that the attacks bore the fingerprints of al Qaeda, we just didn't have an official confirmation... They have said all along that Israel is an enemy and a potential target."

Gissin said there was no doubt al Qaeda had carried out such attacks, in concert with the local infrastructure, whether in Bali, Somalia or the World Trade Center attacks.

"It's not surprising they are taking responsibility," he said. "In the beginning (after the attack), they had an interest to play it down so they wouldn't be pursued immediately, but the ideological imperative is to take responsibility. It's part of their goal to undermine the Western world."

Earlier on Sunday, an Israeli security source said the Jewish state had received intelligence warning of plans by al Qaeda to attack Jews and Israelis in Prague.

Kuwait, a key pro-Western ally in the oil-rich Gulf region, has moved quickly to strip Bu Ghaith of his nationality, labelling him a traitor.

Qatar's al Jazeera channel carried a voice recording in June in which Bu Ghaith claimed al Qaeda responsibility for the suicide attack on a Tunisian synagogue which killed 21 people.

Kenyan police declined to comment on any measures they might take following the claim, but said they had already stepped up security an extra notch on Friday. "All the areas where there could be a likelihood of an attack we have secured with our special teams," said police spokesman Kingori Mwangi. "We've tried to do our best."

Mwangi declined to say why police had taken extra precautions specifically on Friday.

A security threat received by the British embassy in Kenya forced it to close on Wednesday until further notice and led the U.S. embassy to shut some offices as a precaution.

PHOTO CAPTION

A destroyed minibus outside the bombed Paradise hotel near the Kenyan city of Mombasa on November 29, 2002.. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)