The CIA has said a recording posted on the Internet was "likely" the voice of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden offering gold as a reward to anyone who kills top US and UN officials.
"After conducting a technical analysis of the audio recording that surfaced on the Internet yesterday, CIA's assessment is that it is likely the voice of Osama bin Laden," a CIA official said.
The recording on an Islamist Web site last night offered gold to anyone who killed US Iraq administrator Mr Paul Bremer, UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan, Bremer's deputy and UN envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi.
The voice in the recording called for a jihad, or holy war, against the US-led occupation of Iraq, Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council and whoever cooperates with them.
"We in al Qaeda organization are committed to a prize of 10,000 grams of gold to whoever kills Bremer, his deputy, the commander of American forces or his deputy in Iraq," the voice said.
The recording also said: "Whoever kills Kofi Annan or the head of his delegation to Iraq or his representatives, such as Lakhdar Brahimi, will receive the same prize."
US officials were treating the threat seriously and while they viewed the audiotape as containing a lot of rhetoric, saw the reward as something new.