Al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden on Sunday claimed responsibility for the botched Christmas Day US airline bombing attempt and warned America of new "raids" unless it backed off from supporting Israel.
In a short recording broadcast by the Al-Jazeera Arabic news channel, bin Laden, the world's most-wanted terrorist, addressed US President Barack Obama saying the December 25 attack on Northwest Airlines was a message that more strikes similar to the September 11 against America would be forthcoming.
"The message delivered to you (Obama) through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the September 11," bin Laden said referring to 23-year-old Nigerian national's attempt to blow up the plane mid-air during a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
"America will never dream of security unless we will have it in reality in Palestine," he said.
Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up a Northwest Airline flight with 300 people over Detroit on December 25 but he was thwarted by fellow passengers who pounced on him. He was hiding explosives in his underwear. He told investigators that he had been trained and instructed in the plot by Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen.
"God willing, our raids on you will continue as long as your support for the Israelis continues," bin Laden warned.
"It is not fair that you (America) enjoy a good life while our brothers in Gaza endure the worst standard of living," he was quoted as saying in the message.
The suffering of the Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip where 1,400 people, mostly children and women, died during an Israeli offensive there last year, angered many in the Arab world.
In the last year, bin Laden's messages were focused on the Palestinians in attempt to rally support across the globe for his group.
However, it was not yet clear whether the voice heard on the tape was actually that of bin Laden, but it resembled previous recordings attributed to him, reports said.
Bin Laden, who has a $50 million bounty on his head and has been in hiding for the past eight years, last made a public statement four months ago when he was quoted on September 25, 2009, as asking European countries to pull their forces out of Afghanistan.
A US grand jury has indicted Abdulmutallab on six counts arising from the attempt to blow up the jet.
