Purported Bin Laden message hints at retaliation

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(CNN) -- An audio message purportedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden hints at retaliation if alleged 9/11 mastermind Khaled Sheikh Mohammed is executed. The tape was aired Thursday by the Arabic-language TV network Al-Jazeera.

"The White House declared that they will execute the hero Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and his comrades in arms. They think that America will be safe behind the oceans. Justice is to be treated in the same manner," the message said.

"To the American people, peace be upon those who follow the right path, my message towards you is in regards to our prisoners that you have in your custody. Your president is still following the course of his predecessor."

Purported bin Laden messages last surfaced in late January.

In one of them, the al Qaeda leader condemned the United States and other industrial nations for causing climate change. The message criticized former U.S. President George W. Bush for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, and the speaker condemned international corporations.

In another, bin Laden claimed responsibility for the alleged Christmas Day attempt by Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane as it approached Detroit, Michigan, from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Bin Laden also warned the United States of more attacks.

CNN could not independently confirm the authenticity of the messages.