"Qaeda spokesman" says bin Laden alive

Arabic television channel Al Arabiya aired yesterday what it said was an audio tape from an al Qaeda spokesman who said Osama bin Laden was alive and well.

Al Arabiya attributed the recording to Afghan-based Qaeda official Abdel Rahman al-Najdi, who also urged Iraqis to continue their jihad or "holy war" against the US troops occupying their country.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the tape or the identity of the speaker.

Unlike Kuwaiti-born spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith and other members of the militant network blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Abdel Rahman al-Najdi has not previously been identified as an al Qaeda member.

"I would like to bring the good tidings to Muslims everywhere that Sheikh Osama bin Laden is well, very well and that Mullah Omar is also alive," the voice on the recording said, referring respectively to the al Qaeda chief and Taliban leader who was ousted in a 2001 US-led war in Afghanistan.

"I would also like to congratulate our brothers in Iraq for their valiant struggle against the occupation, which we support and urge them to continue," it added.

Saudi-born bin Laden and Mullah Omar have been at large since the US-led war in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden and his deputies made several television appearances via video tapes in 2001. An audio tape purportedly made by the Qaeda leader was broadcast on an Islamist Web site in February.