A new audiotape purportedly of Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist organization, was aired Thursday by two Arab satellite television stations. The man on the tape offers to stop terrorism against European countries, but vows to continue to fight the United States and its allies.
Identified by two Arab satellite television stations as being the voice of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the man says all operations against European countries will be stopped in return for their promise not to attack Muslim countries.
The man says the truce will begin as soon as all European soldiers leave Islamic nations. He said there would be no truce with America.
The message vowed revenge against the United States for Israel's killing last month of militant Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The voice said U.S. policy ignores what the man called "the real problem", which he said is the occupation of Palestine.
The voice said President Bush, big media institutions and the United Nations are a fatal danger to the world and vowed to continue fighting them.
The authenticity of the tape could not be immediately verified. The last purported tape from the al-Qaida leader was aired by the Qatar based al-Jazeera satellite television station last January.