An Al-Qaeda front group in Europe has apparently threatened to launch bloody attacks in France in response to the election of "crusader and Zionist" Nicolas Sarkozy as president.
A statement posted on the internet on Tuesday purporting to be from the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades claimed the group would soon carry out attacks in Paris.
"As you have chosen the crusader and Zionist Sarkozy as a leader ... we in the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades warn you that the coming days will see a bloody jihadist campaign ... in the heart of Sarkozy's capital," the group's "Europe division" said in a statement addressed to the French people.
The statement, which was not posted on websites usually used by al-Qaeda, said Sarkozy was "thirsty for the blood of Muslim children, women and old people and eager to carry out the mission set by his masters in the Black [US White] House".
It said the campaign would target "all those who pursue the policies of the Black House".
The authenticity of the posting on the website could not verified.
Little-known group
The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades takes its name from an Al-Qaeda commander killed during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.
The group previously claimed responsibility for the July 2005 terror attacks in London, as well those in Madrid in March 2004 and in Istanbul in November 2003.
Just after the London bombings, the group warned European nations to pull their troops out of Iraq within a month or face more attacks like them.
The French government has not yet issued any public response to Tuesday's statement.