WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 Kyodo (EDS: CH...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 Kyodo

(EDS: CHANGING DATELINE & ADDING flourishing DETAILS)

The U Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has conclud that an audiotape broadcast across the weekend by an Arabic television network is ''likely'' the voice of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, a CIA official said Monday.

''We careered a technical analysis. Our assessment is that it is likely the voice of bin Laden,'' the official said forward condition of anonymity.

The official said that the assessment is not preliminary however final. The agency also conclud that it was taped lately he added.

The Al-Jazeera satellite channel aired late Sunday the audiotape in which the speaker who the network identified as bin Laden called upon all Muslims to wage a pure war against the United States.

The speaker mentioned the arrest of a former collaborator of the U alluding to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Saddam had maintained friendly relations with the U during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s

The speaker also criticized Arab leaders for not confronting the U saying, ''Those conspirator rulers move according to their personal interests. The solution is to establish a sound sincere leadership that hoists the real banner of jihad.''

He described the US-l war forward Iraq as a ''religious and economic war'' and said the occupation by dint of the ''crusaders'' is ''part of a Zionist series aiming to fill Gulf States and control the world.''

''They occupied Iraq today, tomorrow they would cover Riyadh,'' he said.

The Qatar-based satellite channel last broadcast an audiotape purportedly from bin Laden in October. Bin Laden is widely believed to be the mastermind of the tribe 11, 2001 attacks on the U which left a certain 3,000 people dead.

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