Al-Qaeda confirms death of its leader Ossam bin Laden, vows revenge

Al-Qaeda confirmed on Friday the death of its leader Osama bin Laden and vowed vengeance, in a statement posted on Internet forums on Friday, US monitoring group SITE Intelligence reported. Al-Qaeda said it will also soon release an audiotape of bin Laden that was recorded a week before he was killed by US commandos in Pakistan.

Five days after US President Barack Obama announced bin Laden's death in a US raid in Pakistan, the organization vowed not to deviate from the path of armed struggle and said bin Laden's blood "is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain."

"We in the Al-Qaeda organization pledge to Allah the almighty and ask his help, support and steadfastness to continue on the path of jihad, the path walked upon by our leaders, and on top of them, Sheikh Osama," SITE said quoting the statement. "We also stress that the blood of the mujahid Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy upon him, weighs more to us and is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain," it said.

"We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan, on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed, to rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves who sold everything to the enemies. We call upon them to rise up strongly and in general to cleanse their country (Pakistan) from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it," said the statement. "Their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears," it went on to say.

The statement came after US President Barack Obama said that American commandos killed bin Laden on Sunday in a covert operation in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad.