A new recording reputed to come from al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been posted on an Islamic website
In the recording, bin Laden defends attacks by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi against civilians in Iraq, claiming that he was acting under orders to kill anyone who backs US forces.
The message has narration by a voice resembling bin Laden's as a video shows an old photo of him in a split-screen next to images of al-Zarqawi taken from a previous video.
In the message, bin Laden demands President Bush hand over the body of al-Zarqawi to his family and effusively praises the Jordanian-born militant, often in rhyming couplets. His voice sounds tired at times.
"We will continue to fight you and your allies everywhere, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan to run down your resources and kill your men until you return defeated to your nation," he said, addressing Mr Bush.
Al-Zarqawi was killed in a June 7th airstrike northeast of Baghdad.
It was the fourth message purportedly put out this year by bin Laden. All have featured his voice in audiotapes. New video images of him have not appeared since October 2004.
The authenticity of the video could not be immediately confirmed. It bore the logo of As-Sahab, the al-Qaeda production branch that releases all its messages, and was posted on an Islamic web forum where militants often post messages.