Osama alive and well, says aide

A spokesman for Osama bin Laden says the terrorist and his number two, Ayman Al-Zawahri, are both alive and well.

In a taped message, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith says their al-Qaida network is ready to attack new US targets.

The message also includes a claim of responsibility for a deadly fire at a synagogue in Tunisia in April.

The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network says it received a recorded audio message from Abu Ghaith, the Kuwaiti-born spokesman for bin Laden.

So far, there has been no reaction from the White House.

It is not clear when the tape was made or how Al-Jazeera obtained it. No comment from the station was available.

Similar remarks, purportedly made by Abu Ghaith, appeared days earlier on an Arabic-language website that issues daily updates on the war in Afghanistan.

The tape and the website had some of the same quotes and statements, including that bin Laden would soon make a televised address to the Muslim world.

Abu Ghaith added: "I want to assure Muslims that Sheik Osama bin Laden... Is in good and prosperous health and all what is being rumoured about his illness and injury in Tora Bora has no truth."

Referring to recent US warnings about imminent al-Qaida threats, Abu Ghaith said the group would choose the right time, place and method.