The CIA says a tape recording said to be of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is probably authentic.
In it he denies involvement in last week's bombing in Najaf
A CIA official said the poor quality of the audio message, aired on the Arabic al-Jazeera television network, prevents technical analysts from being certain.
In the message, the voice urged the Iraqi people not to believe those who blamed the ousted dictator and his followers for Friday's attack on the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf that killed Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim and scores of others.