Bin Laden's New Warning
Updated: 15:43, Thursday January 19, 2006
Osama Bin Laden has warned of new terrorist attacks inside the United States.
The warning was contained in a new audio tape reported to be from the al Qaeda leader, in which he also offers a conditional truce.
In the tape, aired on Arab TV station Al Jazeera, Bin Laden offers a truce in order to "build Iraq and Afghanistan".
"We do not mind offering you a truce that is fair and long-term.....so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan....there is no shame in this solution because it prevents wasting of billions of dollars... to merchants of war," he says.
The voice on the tape said al Qaeda was willing to respond to public opinion in the US in favour of withdrawing troops from Iraq.
He said: "We have no objection to responding to this with a long term truce based on fair conditions."
He says the heightened security in the US is not the reason there have been no more attacks there since September 11, 2001.
Instead, he said it was "because there are operations that need preparations and you will see them in your houses as soon as they are complete, God willing."
It has been well over a year since the last confirmed message from Bin Laden - the longest period without a video or audiotape from the al Qaeda leader.
A US counterterrorism official said US intelligence was assessing the tape to determine its authenticity.
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