March 5 (Bloomberg) -- A group representing 120 families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks called on President George W. Bush's re-election campaign to withdraw political advertising using images of the attack's aftermath.

The commercials to promote Bush's re-election include video of firefighters carrying a flag-draped stretcher through the rubble of the World Trade Center and footage of a fireman's funeral.

``I am outraged at the Republicans for doing this, and I don't like my son being used as a political pawn,'' said Robert McIlvane, a member of the group called ``Sept. 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows,'' which held a press conference in Manhattan.

McIlvane, of Oreland, Pennsylvania, lost his 26-year-old son, Bob, a Merrill Lynch & Co. vice president, in the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.

Bush campaign officials didn't immediately return calls seeking comment today. White House spokesman Scott McClellan yesterday defended the ads, calling Sept. 11 ``a defining moment for our nation.''

The ads, which began broadcasting yesterday, signal the start of the general election campaign between Bush, 57, and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, 60, who has a solid hold on the Democratic nomination.

The Bush campaign yesterday issued a statement from Rudolph Giuliani, who was New York's mayor at the time of the attacks, defending the president.

``His leadership on that day is central to this record,'' Giuliani said in the e-mailed statement.

Campaign Speeches

Bush cited the Sept. 11 attacks in campaign speeches at fund- raisers in Santa Clara yesterday and Los Angeles Wednesday. ``We saw war and grief arrive on a quiet September morning,'' Bush said. ``So we pursued the terrorist enemy across the world.''

McIlvane was joined at the press conference by Rita Lasar, 72, who lost her brother, Abraham Zelmanowitz, 52.

The computer programmer at Blue Cross Blue Shield stayed with his quadriplegic friend on the 27th floor of the trade center's north tower and refused to leave when co-workers were evacuating, Rita Lasar said. Both he and his friend, Ed Beyea, died when the tower collapsed.

Zelmanowitz was hailed as a hero and praised by Bush.

``My gut instinct after seeing that television ad was, this is a political party stepping on my brother's grave,'' Lasar said. ``I find it manipulative and hurtful.''

The International Association of Firefighters, which is backing Kerry, called use of the images ``disgraceful'' in a statement yesterday.

Andrew Rice, who lost his brother at the World Trade Center, said in a statement today, ``Politicians from across the spectrum should know that there is bipartisan opposition among 9/11 families to this type of offensive exploitation.''

`Manipulative and Hurtful'

Mary Fetchet, co-founder of the victims' advocacy group Voices of September 11, said in an interview yesterday that she also is concerned about politicians using the World Trade Center site as a backdrop during the August 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.

Fetchet's son, Bradley Fetchet, was among employees of investment bank Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. killed at the World Trade Center.

Kerry has said Bush has shortchanged the budget for police and firefighters who would be the first to respond to a new attack and hasn't taken adequate steps to make sure cargo coming into the U.S. is checked.

Democratic Party officials in four states -- Michigan, West Virginia, Nevada and New Hampshire -- said they were planning news conferences and other events to highlight their criticism of the advertising campaign and Bush's economic policies, according to a statement from the Democratic National Committee.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heidi Przybyla in Crawford, Texas, at hprzybyla@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 5, 2004 13:50 EST