DUBAI - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the Dec. 25 failed bombing of a US bound plane in an audio tape aired on Sunday, and vowed to continue attacks on the United States. Bin Laden, speaking days ahead of major international meetings on how to deal with militancy in Afghanistan and Yemen, said on Al Jazeera television the attempt to blow up the plane as it neared Detroit was a continuation of al- Qaeda policy since Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. "The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of Sept. 11," bin Laden said on the tape in a message addressed "from Osama to (US President Barack) Obama". "If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words, we wouldn't have carried them to you by planes," bin Laden said. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian, has been charged with trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253. The botched attack by the Yemen-based regional wing of al-Qaeda on Christmas Day, and subsequent threats in Yemen, sparked global pressure for a crackdown, helping prompt Sanaa to declare an open war on the militant group within its territory. Defence and counterterrorism officials say Washington quietly has been supplying military equipment, intelligence and training to Yemen to destroy suspected al-Qaeda hide-outs. Since the attempted bombing, Yemen has launched a series of air strikes targeting al-Qaeda leaders and has declared that some top regional leaders, including Qasim al-Raymi and Ayed al-Shabwani, have been killed.
