Al-Qaida leader Osama bin¹ Laden² threatened in a new audio recording³ released Thursday to kill any captured Americans if the US executes the self-professed mastermind of the Sept.11 attacks or any other al-Qaida suspects.

基地组织头目奥萨马·本·拉登在本周四公布的一段录音中威胁称，如果美国处死其所认定的9·11恐怖袭击幕后主谋或涉嫌制造该事件的基地组织其他成员，他就将处决所有被囚禁的美国人。

A combination photo of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Osama bin Laden.

The US is still considering whether to put Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four of his fellow plotters（阴谋者） on military tribunal（军事法庭） for their role in the Sept. 11 attacks. The Obama administration is also looking into recommendations for civilian⁴ trials, and is expected to announce a decision soon.

In a brief 74-second audio tape aired on Al-Jazeera television, bin Laden said if the US decides to execute any al-Qaida suspects in its custody⁵ - and explicitly⁶（明确地，明白地） mentioned Mohammed - his terror network would kill American captives.

The terror leader said such a decision "would mean the US has issued a death sentence against whoever of you becomes a prisoner in our hands."

It was not immediately clear whether al-Qaida is currently has any US captives, but the Haqqani group - the Pakistan-based Taliban faction⁷（派别，小团体） closest to al-Qaida - is holding an American soldier it captured in eastern Afghanistan in June 2009. It released a video of him in December.

Bin Laden said US President Barack Obama is following in the footsteps of his predecessor⁸ George W. Bush by escalating⁹（逐步上升） the war in Afghanistan, being "unjust" to al-Qaida prisoners and supporting Israel in its occupation of Palestinian land.

In a veiled threat, bin Laden said Americans had previously¹⁰ thought their homeland was beyond the reach of his group until the 9/11 attack.

Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in 2003, is the most senior al-Qaida operative（侦探，技工） in US custody, and is currently in detention¹¹ at the US naval¹² base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2008, the US charged him with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks. Pentagon officials have said they'll seek the death penalty.