CNN: Osama bin Laden stresses the importance of martyrdom for Muslim causes in a videotape that purportedly contains a 50-second message from the al Qaeda leader.
The 40-minute videotape, whose audio was being translated from Arabic by CNN, was intercepted before it was to appear on several Islamist Web sites known for carrying statements from al Qaeda and other radical groups.
The videotape, titled "A Special Surprise from As-Sahab. Heaven's Breeze Part I," was made in the last four weeks, but the clips appear to be old, said Octavia Nasr, CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs. There is no indication of where it was shot, and CNN cannot verify its authenticity.
"We're aware of the tape," a government official, who didn't want to be identified, told CNN. The official agreed that the tape's content is not necessarily new.
"There has not been, over time, a one-to-one correlation between release of a tape and any significant operation or attack afterward," the official added.
Bin Laden, with a bodyguard standing directly behind him, is looking down slightly in the video, appearing to address an audience below, which is unseen. Watch the al Qaeda leader (Audio unavailable) » 'New' al Qaeda tape may contain old clip of bin Laden (more)
MSNBC:
Just-released bin Laden tape praises martyrs (more)
Mark Alexander
