Message from bin Laden

Updated 23.01 Wed Mar 19 2008
Keywords: Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda

A message attributed to Osama bin Laden has threatened Europe with "grave punishment" over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

The audio message was posted on the internet following an advanced warning on an al-Qaeda affiliated website.

The US-based SITE Institute said the al-Qaeda leader is planning to post a statement entitled "The Response Will Be What You See, Not What You Hear" on an Islamist website

US analysts say the message is five minutes and three seconds long and is accompanied with a still image of the al-Qaeda leader.

The terror chief is said to direct the statement to the European Union and threatens retribution for the publication of cartoons of the Islamic prophet.

He claims the drawings, printed in newspapers in Denmark and elsewhere, were part of a "crusade" in which the Catholic Pope is also involved.

It was the first statement by bin Laden since November 29 last year, when he urged European countries to stop co-operating with US forces in Afghanistan.

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