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Osama vows more attacks on US
In an audiotape broadcast by Al-Jazeera, Laden has also offered a truce to build Iraq and Afghanistan.
In an audiotape broadcast by Al-Jazeera, Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has said that the outfit is preparing for attacks in the United States.
However, Osama has also offered a truce to build Iraq and Afghanistan, the conditions of which were not given.
The tape said that heightened security measures in the United States were not the reason for there not being any attacks in the country since September 11, 2001.
"These are operations that need preparations, and you will see them," he said.
"Based on what I have said, it is better not to fight the Muslims on their land," he added. "We do not mind offering you a truce that is fair and long-term, so that we can build Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no shame in this solution because it prevents wasting of billions of dollars to the merchants of war."
The tape, whose authenticity could not be immediately verified, comes after a long period of silence from the Western world's most wanted man.
Bin Laden was last heard of in an audiotape in December 27, 2004, in which he stated that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most wanted man, would be Al-Qaeda's leader in the war-torn country.
The White House declined immediate comment on the tape, while a US official later said that it was not yet clear whether the voice in the audiotape was really Bin Laden's, or whether it was recorded recently.
Al-Jazeera broadcast three extracts from the poor-quality audiotape lasting just a few minutes. The message gave no indication about the precise date of when it was recorded.
It did refer to attacks against "the main European countries in the coalition" although it did not mention any name.
In December last year, Al-Jazeera had aired a videotape, dating back to September, which showed Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri claiming that bin Laden was still alive and leading 'jihad' or the holy war against the West.
"Al-Qaeda for holy war is still, thanks to God, a base for jihad. Its prince Osama bin Laden, may God protect him, still leads the jihad," said Zawahiri.
US officials believe that bin Laden and other key Qaeda militants have been sheltering somewhere along the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Bin Laden's last video appearance dates back to December 16, 2004, when he also called on his fighters to strike Gulf oil supplies and warned Saudi leaders that they risked a popular uprising.
