KABUL – As America gears up for war, Islamic clerics Thursday urged terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden to voluntarily leave Afghanistan, where he and his followers have had sanctuary for five years, the Taliban news agency said.

The statement carried by the Bakhtar news agency came at the end of a two-day meeting by hundreds of Islamic clerics who were called to Kabul by the Taliban government to make a decision about U.S. demands to hand over bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

The clerics' statement set no deadline for bin Laden to accept or reject the call, and it was unclear whether this would be enough to dissuade U.S. President George W. Bush from launching massive military strikes against the impoverished nation of Afghanistan.

"The Ulema wants the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to encourage Osama to leave Afghanistan in the proper time and of his own free will," Bakhtar said, referring to the council of hundreds of clerics which had met for two days.

They also were prepared to call a holy war against the United States, if its troops attack their country. "If a powerful country attacks a weak country, it is a jihad [holy war] for all Muslims. When a non-Muslim country attacks a Muslim country, it is a jihad," the clerics said.

Since taking control of most of Afghanistan, the Taliban have declared holy wars against the northern-based, anti-Taliban alliance, Russia and Iran, but never the United States.

The final statement appeared to be a compromise between the hard-liners among the clerics, who would be ready to go to war to protect bin Laden, and those who wanted to rid the country of a devastating threat.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, who called the meeting of the clerics, are likely to follow its direction, but it was uncertain whether bin Laden would be prepared to leave Afghanistan, where he has lived since 1996 and allegedly operated training camps for Islamic extremists.

There was no mention in the clerics' final statement about the camps or bin Laden's followers, who include thousands of radicals from throughout the Muslim world.

The clerics said that the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, an organization of 52 Islamic nations, should investigate claims about bin Laden's guilt and demand that U.S. forces do not put civilians at risk if they attack Afghanistan.

"Don't kill innocent people," the clerics said in their statement.

Asked about the council's decision, one of the clerics, Mohammed Naseer, said in an interview with The Associated Press, "We wanted to find a solution that would save our country and solve the problem of our guest," bin Laden.

On Wednesday, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement, said it was willing to meet with U.S. officials but also accused Washington of unfairly vilifying bin Laden.

The council of clerics, which began meeting Wednesday in the Presidential Palace, moved to the hotel, another heavily damaged building in the war-shattered capital, to continue its talks Thursday.

Developments

• Pentagon orders combat aircraft to bases in Gulf as part of "Operation Infinite Justice."

• American and United airlines announce 40,000 layoffs as the U.S. aviation industry sinks deeper into a crisis touched off by the terrorist attacks.

• President George W. Bush continues push to enlist global support in the battle against terrorism, meeting with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and calling leaders of South Africa and South Korea.

• Attorney General John Ashcroft – the top U.S. law-enforcement official – says the terrorists who planned and carried out last week's attacks probably were supported by foreign governments.

• Foreign ministers of Russia and Germany meet with Secretary of State Colin Powell and promise to aid anti-terrorism effort. "The evil will be punished. All Russia is with you," says Igor Ivanov.

• Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf seeks to reassure his country the war against terrorism does not target Islam or the people of Afghanistan.