A purported audio tape of Osama bin Laden has aired on Al Jazeera television claimed responsibility for a 25 December attempted bombing of a US-bound plane.
Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is charged with attempting to blow up a Delta Airlines plane as it approached Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam with almost 300 people on board.
'The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of September 11,' bin Laden says on the tape.
'If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words we wouldn't have carried them to you by planes.'
The al-Qaeda leader also vowed to continue attacks on the US as long as it continues its support for Israel and until such time as Palestinians enjoy peace.
The authenticity of the audio statement has not yet been independently verified but Al-Jazeera said the voice was that of bin Laden.
A Yemen-based regional wing of al Qaeda has said it was behind the attempt to blow up the plane as it approached Detroit.
