Wednesday, December 7 2005 14:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dubai: Fugitive Al-Qaeda number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, claimed in a new videotape aired today (Dec 7, 2005) that the network's leader Osama bin Laden was still alive and leading 'jihad' against the West.

The turbaned Islamist also called on Al-Qaeda fighters to attack oil installations in Muslim countries, according to Al-Jazeera television which broadcast the video.

"Al-Qaeda for holy war is still, thanks to God, a base for jihad. Its prince Osama bin Laden, may God protect him, still leads the jihad," Zawahiri said in video clips screened by the Qatar-based satellite channel.

US officials believe that Bin Laden, the Western world's most wanted terror mastermind, and other key Qaeda militants have been sheltering somewhere along the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

However his fate is unknown. Bin Laden has not been heard of since a December 27, 2004 audiotape in which he anointed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most wanted man, as Al-Qaeda's leader in the war-torn country.

Bin Laden's last video appearance dates back to December 16 last year when he also called on his fighters to strike Gulf oil supplies and warned Saudi leaders they risked a popular uprising.

In today's tape Zawahiri was quoted by Al-Jazeera as calling for attacks on oil installations in Muslim nations because most of the revenues of this oil go to the enemies of Islam.

Al-Jazeera said the tape appeared on a website but there was no indication of when it was recorded.