An audio recording attributed to Osama bin Laden offered rewards in gold Thursday for the killing of top U.S. and U.N. officials in Iraq or of the citizens of any nation fighting there.
The 20-minute recording, dated Thursday, appeared on two Web sites known for militant Islamic messages. The voice sounded like that of Bin Laden and the words were laden with Quranic verse, but the authenticity of the recording could not immediately be verified.
Bin Laden had never been known to offer rewards for missions he had described as followers' religious duty to carry out.
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