Claims of new bin Laden tape
US officials are treating a report on an Afghan news website about a new video showing Osama bin Laden with scepticism.
The story from Pajhwok Afghan News, dated Tuesday, describes a new 30-minute tape with a message from Taliban commander Mullah Dodallah and the al Qaida leader, according to the IntelCenter, a US government contractor that works for intelligence agencies.
A US counterterrorism official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity in compliance with office policy, said the government could not confirm the the tape’s existence, but said officials are aware of the media report.
US authorities are viewing it sceptically, the official said.
Bin Laden has not been heard from since a December 2004 audio.
That is the longest stretch the terror leader has been publicly quiet since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
