Washington: The voice in a new audio message from Al Qaeda, posted on its website, was believed to be of Osama bin Laden, the White House said.

"I know the intelligence community has analysed the tape and they do believe that it is the voice of Osama bin Laden," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a news briefing on Thursday.

An audio message, titled "May our mothers be bereaved of us, if we fail to help our prophet", was posted on an Al Qaeda website Wednesday, as the world marked the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

In the five-minute message, the voice of self-claimed bin Laden said the US-led military coalition in Iraq and Afghanistan have not ended the war, but increased their determination to resist.

Perino said, "His organisation continues to target innocent men and women and children around the world and bring destruction to people everywhere who don't agree with their radical views."

During a speech Wednesday at the Pentagon, US President George W Bush hailed the military achievement in Iraq, including elimination of thousands of Iraqi militants affiliated to the Al Qaeda.

"In Iraq, we are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden, his grim ideology, and his murderous network. And the significance of this development cannot be overstated," Bush said.

However, he admitted the Iraq war was "longer, harder and more costly" than the US government anticipated.

The US launched the Iraq war March 20, 2003, claiming former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government had mass destructive weapons and links with Al Qaeda.

In the past five years, the US has not yet found any evidence to support its claims or trace bin Laden who was believed to be hiding in the mountains in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas.

Source : IANS