Istanbul - The second in command of the al-Qaeda terrorist franchise, Ayman al-Zawahri, has lashed out at the Saudi royal house and the president of Yemen in a new audio taped message carried by Islamist websites on Monday.

The person on the tape, his voice sounding not unlike earlier authenticated recordings of al-Zawahri, says: "The rulers of the house of Ibn Saud and (Yemeni President) Ali Abdullah Salih have sold out their religion." He accuses them of being "agents" of the United States.

The tape is thought to have been made just days ago, given that al-Zawahri comments on recent events. He mentions, among other things, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 8.

The al-Qaeda deputy also says that Karzai's offer of reconciliation to so-called moderate Taliban, which have no links to al-Qaeda, was as much a farce as an earlier Saudi request to mediate between Karzai and the Taliban."

Al-Zawahri also urged militant Islamists in Somalia, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and al-Qaeda cells in Yemen to continue fighting. (dpa)