Agency report

Doha, Feb 20: A voice purporting to be that of Osama bin Laden vowed never to be captured alive and declared the US military in Iraq had resorted to the same 'barbaric' tactics used by ousted ruler Saddam Hussein.

The audiotape was posted on a militant Web site on Sunday, agencies reported.

It is said the tape is a complete version of the one that was first broadcast January 9 on Al Jazeera, in which bin Laden offered the US a truce but also said his Al Qaeda terror network would soon launch a fresh attack on American soil.

'I have sworn to only live free. Even if I find the bitter taste of death, I don't want to die humiliated or deceived,' he said.

About the American military behaviour in Iraq, the speaker said:

'The jihad is continuing with strength, for Allah be all the credit, despite all the barbarity, the repressive steps taken by the American Army and its agents, to the extent that there is no longer any mentionable difference between this criminality and the criminality of Saddam.'