The purported leader of al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq called in a new posting on a militant Web site on Thursday for attacks on Israel and proposed that Iraq's territory be a "launching pad" to seize Jerusalem.

As for attacks on Israel, al-Baghdadi said the "Islamic state in Iraq will be the cornerstone for the return of Al-Quds" and added the group was trying to use Iraq's western province of al-Anbar as a launching pad for missiles against Israel — the same way the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein fired 31 missiles against the Jewish state in the Gulf War.

"The Jews and the Americans have realized this and tried by all means to prevent us from achieving this target including the fierce campaign on al-Anbar, knowing that it is easy to fire missiles on Israel from some parts there," al-Baghdadi said.