Osama bin Laden leveled a new threat against the U.S. in an audio recording released today, saying al-Qaida will kill American captives if the U.S. executes Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or other terror suspects in its custody.
Bin Laden named Mohammed specifically in the 74-second recording aired on Al-Jazeera television.
"The White House announced they intend to sentence them to death," he said on the recording. "When the U.S. takes that decision, it means they will take a decision that any hostage who falls in our hands will be sentenced to death."
The U.S. is weighing whether to try Mohammed and four alleged accomplices in a military tribunal or a civilian court, sparking debate and varying degrees of support regarding the location of a potential civilian trial. A decision is expected soon. Mohammed is charged with murder and war crimes and is being held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
It remains unclear whether there are any U.S. captives in al-Qaida custody. In December, the Haqqani group of the Pakistan-based Taliban faction released a video of a U.S. soldier they captured in Afghanistan in June.
Bin Laden also said U.S. President Barack Obama, like his predecessor George W. Bush, was being "unjust" to al-Qaida prisoners and condemned him for escalating the war in Afghanistan.
"The leaders in the White House have been practicing oppression on us and they still do," he said. "They think the U.S. behind the oceans is in safety from the anger of the oppressed. Until the strong reaction in your homeland on the 11th of September. Happy is the one who has been forewarned. The treatment should be equal."
The White House did not immediately comment on the audiotape.
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