A message broadcast on the Internet in the name of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden offers a so-called "reward," payable in gold, for an attack that kills the U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The statement appeared on an Islamist website Thursday, and has not been verified.
It says that 10 kilograms of gold, which would be worth well over $100,000, would be given to anyone who kills Mr. Bremer and Mr. Annan.
The purported Bin Laden statement also offers as bounty in gold for the death of other senior officials, including Mr. Bremer's deputy and Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. envoy to Iraq.
Mr. Brahimi returned to Baghdad Thursday to continue work on establishing a caretaker Iraqi government to take charge at the end of next month, when the United States plans to transfer limited sovereignty to Iraqis.