Al-Qaida has issued its first confirmation of Osama bin Laden’s death in an internet statement posted on militant websites.

The US Defence Department announced the capture of one of al-Qaida’s most senior and most experienced operatives, an Iraqi who was trying to return to his native country when he was captured.

A slick two-hour al-Qaida propaganda “documentary” shows a multiethnic group of insurgents in Afghanistan – including Europeans, Arabs and other nationalities – preparing to attack US troops and showing off what they said was a captured US military laptop.