Osama bin Laden to release message to US on six year anniversary of 9/11

The leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden is expected to release videotaped message to the American people on or before next week's sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.

The SITE Institute and IntelCenter, two U.S. based terrorist monitoring groups have stated an announcement, in the name of al-Qaeda's media-production arm, As-Sahab, seen on an Islamist website this week indicates the new al-Qaeda video is about to be released.

The announcement also came with a photo of bin Laden, which is said to have been taken recently. There have been no photos released of bin Laden since 2004, and the last known audio message he recorded is reported to have been made over a year ago.

The U.S. states that capturing Bin Laden is still a top priority.

"Obviously, it's a huge priority for us to capture and kill bin Laden and bring he and the rest of the leadership to justice. I just think people have got to be clear that we're being manipulated every time that they issue a statement, because they're trying to use the media as a way to terrorize us," said the Homeland Security Adviser for the White House, Frances Townsend.

Townsend also stated that the videotape is likely propaganda, but the U.S. will still monitor the situation.