Al-Qaeda confirms bin Laden's death, threatens new attacks

Al-Qaeda has confirmed Osama bin Laden's death in an Internet statement, The Associated Press reports.

The terror network says today in a statement that bin Laden's blood "will not be wasted" and that it will continue attacking Americans and their allies.

Update at 3:01 p.m. ET: The Taliban says bin Laden's death will "give a new impetus" to wage war against the United States and its allies, AP reports.

Update at 9:34 a.m. ET: There was no indication how the group will retaliate. Rather than making vehement cries of vengeance, the statement — entitled "You lived as a good man, you died as a martyr" — struck a tone of calmness and continuation. Though it included praise of bin Laden, much of the 11-paragraph statement was dedicated to underlining that al-Qaeda would live on, depicting him as just another in a line of "martyrs" from the group.

"It is impossible, impossible. Sheik Osama didn't build an organization to die when he dies," the statement reads. "The university of faith, Quran and jihad from which bin Laden graduated will not close its doors," it adds.

"The soldiers of Islam will continue in groups and united, plotting and planning without getting bored, tired, with determination, without giving up until striking a blow," the statement says.

It says bin Laden was killed "along an established path followed by the best of those who came before him and those who will come after him."

The writers of the statement appeared unaware of the announcement by American officials that bin Laden's body had been buried at sea. The statement warns against mishandling or mistreating bin Laden's body and demands that it be handed over to his family, saying "any harm (to the body) will open more doors of evil, and there will be no one to blame but yourselves."

It also says that an audio message bin Laden recorded a week before his death would be issued soon.

Update at 8:55 a.m. ET: The statement, dated May 3, was the first by the terror network since bin Laden was killed by U.S. commandos in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The Associated Press says the statement's authenticity could not be independently confirmed, but it was posted on websites where the group traditionally puts out its messages.

It also says that an audio message bin Laden recorded a week before his death would be issued soon.

"We stress that the blood of the holy warrior sheik, Osama bin Laden, God bless him, is precious to us and to all Muslims and will no go in vain," the statement says. "We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries."

"Soon, God willing, their happiness will turn to sadness," it says, "their blood will be mingled with their tears."

In the statement, al-Qaeda also calls on the people of Pakistan — "where Sheik Osama was killed" — to rise up in revolt against its leaders.

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