A transcript provided by the US-based monitoring group Intel Center said the message stated: 'Were you to see what your American ally and his helpers did in northern Afghanistan, you would understand the causes of the bloody events in Madrid and London.'

Bin Laden's tape was released on the same day as a video appeared on the internet featuring Bekkay Harrach, a German linked to Al Qaeda, calling for German Muslims to take part in jihad against the West.

In the 39-minute video, Harrach tells his 'dear sisters and brothers in Islam' that 'jihad is a completely different world' and that 'anybody can take part in jihad'.