Bin Laden Tape Praises Bali Attack

The Arabic television station al-Jazeera last night broadcast an audio tape purporting to be by Osama bin Laden, in which he praised the bombings in Bali. If genuine, it would be the most compelling proof yet that the al-Qaida leader is alive.

US officials were trying to establish the authenticity of the tape, but privately acknowledged that the voice was likely to be that of Bin Laden.

The voice praised the terrorist attacks in Bali, Moscow, and against a French tanker off the coast of Yemen, suggesting that it was recorded in recent weeks. The speaker also warned US allies against following the "oppressive American government", naming Britain among a handful of western countries.

Al-Jazeera has broadcast a number of recordings said to be by the Saudi-born dissident but, if genuine, this is the first that would provide real evidence that he survived the bombing of Afghanistan.

Experts cautioned against jumping to conclusions. "It does sound like Bin Laden's voice, but we have to complete the technical analysis," said a White House official. "Something of this import, we want to be as sure as we can be."

The tape described the White House as the "biggest butchers of the era" and voiced support for Iraq and the Palestinians. "As you kill, you will be killed," it warned.

The voice said the attacks had been carried out by "sons who are zealous in the defence of their religion", and were a reaction to "what Bush, the pharaoh of the age, is doing by killing our children in Iraq and what Israel, an American ally, is doing, bombing homes with elderly women and children inside, using American planes in Palestine."

"So why are your governments allying themselves with America in attacking us in Afghanistan, especially to mention Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and Australia?" it said.

The tape was critical of Australia's role in East Timor. "They ignored our warning and woke up to the sound of explosions in Bali, but the government pretended they were not the target," the voice said.

The most recent event referred to on the tape is the Moscow theatre siege by Chechen rebels, which ended with 128 deaths on October 26.

In September, the al-Jazeera network aired voice recordings of Bin Laden that were authenticated by the CIA. But officials said the tape, which named the hijackers from the terrorist attacks on September 11 last year, was unlikely to have been a recent recording. Another tape last month warned of attacks against "US economic interests".

If the recording is of Bin Laden, there are several theories for his reluctance to appear in a video. Experts said he could have changed his appearance or been injured.