An audio recording in which al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden says convicted September 11th plotter Zacarias Moussaoui played no role in the attacks is authentic, a US intelligence official said today.
Man on tape attributed to Osama bin Laden
"Following a technical analysis it has been revealed that the voice is indeed Osama bin Laden," said the official.
In the audiotape, posted on a website often used by al-Qaeda, bin Laden also said he had personally assigned tasks to the 19 hijackers who staged the attacks on US cities that killed about 3,000 people.
"The truth is that he has no connection whatsoever with the events of September 11. I am certain of what I say because I was responsible for entrusting the 19 brothers ... with the raids," said the man, who sounded like the leader of al-Qaeda.
The authenticity of the tape posted on a website often used by Al-Qaeda could not be immediately verified.
"US intelligence is reviewing the tape in an effort to determine whether or not it's authentic. At this point there's no reason to doubt that it's real," a US counterterrorism official said.
Moussaoui was sentenced on May 4th to life in prison with no chance of release, ending 4-1/2 years of legal wrangling over his fate.
The 37-year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy in connection with the attacks, in which hijacked airliners were flown into buildings in New York City and Washington DC.
Zacarias Moussaoui
"The participants in September 11th were two groups: pilots and support teams for each pilot in order to control the aircraft. And since Zacarias Moussaoui was learning how to fly, it follows that he was not the 20th person in the teams which helped to control the airplanes, as your (US) government previously claimed," said the speaker in a message to Americans.
Some US officials initially said they believed Moussaoui was to have taken part in the 11 attacks as a 20th hijacker. Others later said he was supposed to have been part of a second wave of attacks that were not carried out.