The tape runs 47 minutes and the first 14 minutes features a voice purportedly of bin Laden with a still photograph of him in front of a brown background.

The rest of the video is also still images with the sound of one of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers reciting a rambling will. The tape features English subtitles, CNN said.

The tape was obtained by terrorism expert Laura Mansfield of IntelCenter, a U.S. firm that monitors militant Islamic Web sites.

The voice listed as Bin Laden's praises the 19 militants who carried out the attacks as martyrs but curiously concludes with a religious plea for mercy.

"This talk of mine consists of some reflections on the will of a young man who personally penetrated the most extreme degrees of danger and is a rarity among men: one of the 19 champions. May Allah have mercy on them all," the tape said.