Osama bin Laden speaks in this 1998 file photo at a meeting at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. Bin Laden urged Iraqi militants in an Internet message Saturday July 1, 2006 to continue fighting the US-led coalition in Baghdad, or else 'all the capitals in the region will fall to the crusaders.' The message also endorsed Abu Hamza al-Muhajer as the new leader for his terror network al-Qaida in Iraq, succeeding Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed last month in a US airstrike. [AP]

The White House countered a threatening message from Osama bin Laden on Saturday by accusing the al-Qaida leader of using the media to justify violence that is stalling the new Iraqi government's work to mend sectarian strife.

In an Internet posting Saturday, bin Laden endorsed a new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq and warned Shiites there against collaborating with the United States in battling Sunni insurgents.

"These terrorists offer nothing in their ideology and messages beyond future fighting, conflict and misery," the Bush administration said in a statement read by a White House official.

The official said the United States was analyzing the contents of the message and working to determine the authenticity of the recording, which was not immediately verified.

"If authentic, the tape demonstrates yet again that bin Laden and al-Qaida continue to use the media to justify their dark vision and war against humanity," the statement said.

It was bin Laden's fifth audio message so far this year and his second in two days.

The White House offhandedly dismissed bin Laden's message on Friday. "It's another bin Laden audio tape," White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters. "It is what it is."

Saturday's 19-minute recording from bin Laden came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, started a regional tour seeking support from Sunni Arab countries for his national reconciliation plan. The plan contains a conditional amnesty for insurgents, but not members of al-Qaida.

"The Iraqi people and the international community will continue to tell these enemies of humanity that their dark vision and atrocities are unwelcome interventions," the White House said. "The Iraqi people are taking hold of their future and it is one of freedom and prosperity."

Bin Laden gave his support to Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, the replacement for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a US airstrike June 7. In an attempt to boost the morale of al-Qaida members in Iraq, bin Laden said that the Islamic community was depending on them.

"Stay steadfast and don't leave Baghdad, otherwise all the capitals in the region will fall to the crusaders," he said, referring to the US-led coalition.

Bin Laden also warned nations not to send troops to Somalia, where Islamic militants have taken over control of the capital and much of the southern part of the country.

Bush expressed concern last month that Somalia could become a haven for al-Qaida members like Afghanistan was in the late 1990s. The US has accused the Islamic militants of harboring al-Qaida leaders responsible for the deadly 1998 bombings at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.