Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has released a videotape on the sixth anniversary of September 11th in which he praises one of the hijackers who attacked the United States.
An Islamist website had said yesterday it would show a new video of bin Laden to mark the anniversary.
Frame grab taken from an undated video message from al-Qaeda's production house as-Sahab showing Osama bin Laden
Terrorism expert Laura Mansfield said the 47-minute long tape was geared as a commemorative tape praising one of the hijackers of the September 11th attacks.
"This talk of mine consists of some reflections on the will of a young man who personally penetrated the most extreme degrees of danger and is a rarity among men: one of the 19 champions (may Allah have mercy on them all)," says bin Laden during the first half of the tape.
The remainder of the tape is of Waleed al-Shehri, one of hijackers on September 11th, speaking his last will and testament into the camera as his image is superimposed upon an image of a burning World Trade Centre.
The video does not include any moving images of bin Laden. It was unclear when the video was recorded, and the authenticity of the tape could not be immediately confirmed.
Last week, bin Laden issued a video saying the United States was vulnerable and Americans must embrace Islam to avert war. Security analysts said the message could be a call for new attacks. The White House rejected that view and called bin Laden "virtually impotent."
Afghanistan's foreign minister, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, insisted today that bin Laden was not hiding in the country.
"(Given) the enmity between him and the Afghan population . . . because he was the main creator of a terrorist and dictatorship regime against the population of Afghanistan, it is impossible that he can find support among the civilians of Afghanistan," Mr Spanta added.
The Taliban, the country's former rulers, sheltered bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network prior to their overthrow in late 2001. US officials believe he is hiding in the mountainous, inaccessible area straddling the Afghan-Pakistani border.
The United States will today mark the sixth anniversary of the 2001 attacks.
Four airplanes were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York; the Pentagon in Washington, DC; and a field in Pennsylvania. In all, 2,993 people died, including the 19 hijackers.