Osama Bin Laden
© Agence France-Presse
Dead Man Talking
Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has purportedly urged European nations to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, in a new tape posted on the internet.

He said that "an intelligent man does not waste his money and sons for a gang of criminals in Washington".

The audio message, the authenticity of which cannot be verified, was contained in a video posted on Friday.

It had German and English subtitles. Germans go to the polls in federal elections on Sunday.

"It is shameful to be part of an alliance whose leader does not care about spilling the blood of human beings by bombing villages intentionally," he said, referring to civilian deaths in missile attacks against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"If you had seen [the mass killings] of your American allies and their helpers in northern Afghanistan ... then you would understand the bloody events in Madrid and London," Bin Laden said, referring to attacks in the two cities in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

Attacks threatened

Meanwhile, in a separate development, police in Germany say they have arrested a 25-year-old Turkish man suspected of posting an al-Qaeda video on the internet.

The video threatened attacks in Germany unless it withdraws its troops from Afghanistan.

Security in Germany is already tight ahead of the election after three separate al-Qaeda messages in German emerged in the past week.

Germany has 4,200 troops serving with Nato-led forces in Afghanistan.

A recent poll suggested 55% per cent of Germans wanted their troops to be withdrawn.