In a new minute-long audio tape that aired on Arabic-language news outlet Al-Jazeera earlier today, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Liden appears to claim responsibility for the failed bombing attempt on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas Day and threatens President Obama directly with more attacks.
“The message I want to convey to you through the plane of the hero Umar Farouk [Abdulmutallab], reaffirms a previous message that the heroes of 9/11 conveyed to you,” a voice, purportedly bin Laden’s, tells Obama.
Prior to speaking with his attorneys, Abdulmutallab told federal investigators that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen, had trained him and provided him with the explosives for the attack.
The tape, which would be bin Laden’s first released audio message after over seven months of hiding, goes on to state that the United States will not find “safety” until Palestinians “live it in a reality.”
“It is not fair to enjoy that kind of life while our brothers in Gaza live in the worst of miseries,” bin Laden continues in the tape, which begins by declaring it is “from Osama to Obama.”
Several security experts maintain that bin Laden had no role in the attack and is merely attempting to use it to advance his agenda. Still others suggest the tape, which White House adviser David Axelrod could not confirm was authentic earlier today in an interview with CNN, is a fake.
On Friday, the British government raised its threat level from “substantial” to “severe,” the second highest possible level. British officials claimed there was no intelligence indicating an attack was imminent.
LISTEN TO THE TAPE
Full story: Miliband warns of terror threat after bin Laden tape aired – The Guardian
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