U.S. confirms voice is al-Zarqawi's

WASHINGTON -- American intelligence officials said on Tuesday that experts had confirmed the voice of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on a 17- minute audiotape in which the insurgent leader said he had been wounded slightly but remained in Iraq.

The tape, which was posted on an Islamic Web site on Monday night, shed light on several mysteries that had sprung up in recent days about the medical condition and whereabouts of the United States' most wanted figure in Iraq.

On the tape, al-Zarqawi addressed himself to Osama bin Laden as a "soldier to his emir," and said he had been wounded but not seriously and was in Iraq. It appeared to be a response to speculation that he might have been gravely wounded and had slipped out of the country for care.

Al-Zarqawi's remarks indicated that he was prepared to lead further insurgent attacks in Iraq, but did not provide any specifics about his condition. "I'm sure you heard the news that I'm badly injured and that I entered the Ramadi hospital, but I wanted to tell you that is not true and it is all only rumor," he said.

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