"There is a need to reassess the manner in which the war on terror is being conducted," Karzai said. "I strongly believe and have conveyed that we must engage strategically, to stop the sources of money, supplies, equipment and motivation. . . . If we don't stop the sources of terror, the people will suffer once again."

Four U.S. soldiers were killed late Wednesday during combat operations in Nurestan province in northeast Afghanistan, U.S. military officials said Thursday. There were no other reports of insurgent attacks.

In the 3 1/2 -minute videotape, made available on a Web site early Thursday, Ayman al-Zawahiri said in Arabic, "I am calling on the Muslims in Kabul in particular and in all Afghanistan in general and for the sake of God to stand up . . . in the face of the infidel forces that are invading Muslim lands." He wore a white turban and posed with an assault rifle.

The video appeared to have been made the day after anti-foreign riots erupted here May 29 following a fatal traffic accident caused by a runaway U.S. military cargo truck. At least 20 people died in the ensuing street violence, and dozens of buildings were badly damaged.

"I direct my speech today to my Muslim brothers in Kabul who lived the bitter events yesterday and saw by their own eyes a new proof of the criminal acts of the American forces against the Afghan people," said Zawahiri, chief deputy to Osama bin Laden.

Both al-Qaeda leaders are believed to be hiding along the desolate Afghan-Pakistan border.

Karzai, meeting with journalists Thursday morning on the shaded grounds of his fortified palace, denounced the Egyptian-born Zawahiri as an outlaw who had caused bloodshed in Afghanistan for years.

"He is the one who has been destroying our mosques, our schools, our vineyards, our orchards," Karzai said. "He and his friends, the terrorists, trained guns on Afghan lives, including children and women. He killed Afghans for years, and then he went to America and brought down the twin towers. Even if the rest of the world did not want him, we in Afghanistan want him arrested and put before justice."

Few Afghans had any knowledge of the video until brief clips were shown on the evening news, with a few sentences translated from Arabic into Afghan Dari. One middle-aged Kabul man interviewed by Tolo TV said, "We have peace here now. This man is a foreigner. Why is he interfering in our country?"

At his news conference, Karzai also expressed deep sorrow at the large number of Afghans killed in the war in his country. More than 500 people have died in the past two months, and U.S. and Afghan officials predicted the fighting will continue for several months as American and NATO forces conduct a major sweep through the volatile south.

"It is not acceptable that in all the fighting, Afghans are dying," he said. "Even if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land."

Karzai also expressed bitter frustration at what he described as slow, inadequate and misdirected security assistance from foreign countries. He said he had repeatedly requested more help to bring governance to remote regions, hire and train more police and strengthen the new national army.

He also suggested that foreign military forces here should shift their focus from operations inside Afghanistan to a broader attack on the sources and causes of terrorism outside the country.

"There is a need to reassess the manner in which the war on terror is being conducted," Karzai said. "I strongly believe and have conveyed that we must engage strategically, to stop the sources of money, supplies, equipment and motivation. . . . If we don't stop the sources of terror, the people will suffer once again."

A spokesman for the U.S. military here expressed surprise and consternation at Karzai's comments, saying, "The U.S. has played a key role in developing the Afghan National Army and is leading the way with Operation Mountain Thrust," the current offensive by about 10,000 international troops in four southern provinces.

"We are not just chasing Taliban," said the spokesman, Col. Tom Collins, referring to the Islamic militia that ruled most of the country for five years before being ousted by a U.S.-led force in 2001. "We are trying to push into new areas and establish good governance, but it's hard to do that when people are shooting at you."

Karzai has previously blamed Pakistan for harboring and supporting Taliban fighters and other insurgents responsible for much of the recent violence. His call for a strategic approach to the war on terror appeared to be an indirect reference to chronic problems along the Pakistan border.

But the president, who just returned from a two-week foreign trip, said he had met in Shanghai with Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and engaged him in a long dialogue about the terrorist problem. He said he hoped to continue the dialogue and would send his foreign minister to Pakistan immediately to pursue it.

"We must be in touch with each other and be good friends to each other," he said. "The threat from al-Qaeda is in both places."