WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. says it can’t immediately authenticate a new audio message purportedly by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden that claims responsibility for the plot to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas.
But White House adviser David Axelrod tells CNN’s “State of the Union” that whatever the source, the message “contains the same hollow justification for the mass slaughter of innocents.”
In the message release early Sunday, bin Laden threatens more attacks on the United States.
The minute-long recording was carried by Al-Jazeera Arabic news channel. Bin Laden addresses President Barack Obama and says the failed Christmas attack was meant to send a message similar to that of the Sept. 11 attacks.
