Osama bin Laden Claims Responsibility for Christmas Bombing Attempt

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has claimed responsibility for the attempted airline bombing on Christmas day in Detroit. Bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed attack in an audio message released Sunday, and vows further attacks on the United States.

In the message, bin Laden suggests that he wants to show the world that he remains in direct command of the extremist Muslim group's many branches throughout the world.

The recording was aired on the Al-Jazeera news channel, and in it bin Laden directly addressed President Barack Obama, saying that the attack was similar to that of September 11 and that more attacks would be coming. He said:

“The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the Sept. 11.

America will never dream of security unless we will have it in reality in Palestine. God willing, our raids on you will continue as long as your support for the Israelis continues.”

Abdulmuttalab, a Nigerian student, attempted to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight he was sitting on as it approached Detroit Metro Airport on Christmas Day. However, the bomb that he had been hiding in his underwear failed to explode, instead catching him on fire.

After the incident, the would-be jihadist told federal agents that he had been trained and instructed in the bomb plot by Al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. Initially, Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula took credit for the attack. However, in issuing this most recent audio recording, Bin Laden is indicating that he himself is ordering attacks, rather than just giving his approval afterwards.

Bin Laden's last public message was on September 26, when he demanded that European countries pull their troops out of Afghanistan. In that recording, he also warned of retaliation against nations allied with the U.S. in fighting the war.