Bin Laden threatens EU over Muhammad cartoons

CAIRO: Osama bin Laden has warned Europeans of a "severe" reaction to come, condemning in an audio message the publication of drawings insulting to the Prophet Muhammad.

The message, posted late on Wednesday on a militant website that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past and bore the logo of the extremist group's media wing al-Sahab, showed a still image of bin Laden aiming an assault rifle.

"The response will be what you see and not what you hear and let our mothers bereave us if we do not make victorious our messenger of God," said a voice believed to be bin Laden's, without specifying what action would be taken.