A new Osama bin Laden audiotape aired by Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera urges Muslims to 'continue the jihad' and oppose the American occupation of Iraq.

The speaker called on Muslims to 'continue the jihad to check the conspiracies that are hatched against the Islamic nation'.

Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief Ibrahim Hilal said the original message was 47 minutes long, of which the network aired only 14.

"My message is to incite you against the conspiracies, especially those uncovered by the occupation of the crusaders in Baghdad under the pretext of weapons of mass destruction, and also the situation in (Jerusalem) under the deceptions of the road map and the Geneva initiative," the speaker said.

A West Asia peace plan dubbed the Geneva Accord was launched on December 1 by Italian and Palestinian negotiators. The roadmap is a US-backed plan for a Palestinian state.

"We have to liberate the Islamic world from the military occupation of the crusaders by raising up the banner of jihad for god's sake," the speaker said.

Laden criticised the Muslim nations for refusing to stand against the United States for a fair settlement of the Palestinian issue and for not supporting the Palestinian resistance.

He also criticised Gulf countries for receiving members of the Iraqi Governing Council.

"The deterioration of the situation of Arabs and Muslims is in ignoring Islam as a basic programme for rule," the speaker said.

"The occupation of Iraq is the beginning of the full occupation of the other Gulf states. ... The Gulf is the key for control of the world in the point of view of the big powers because of the presence of the biggest deposits of oil," he said.

Referring to capture of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain, he said, "Gulf leaders know that their turn is coming after seeing "the capture of their former comrade in treason and collaboration with America."

Agencies