AFGHANISTAN - July 15 - Bin Laden Videotape Released Praising Martyrdom.

A Qaeda videotape posted on a militant Web site features a short, undated clip of a weary-looking Osama bin Laden praising martyrdom. The bin Laden clip, which lasted less than a minute, was part of a 40-minute video featuring purported Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan paying tribute to fellow militants who have been killed in the country. Bin Laden glorified those who die in the name of jihad saying even the Prophet Muhammad "had been wishing to be a martyr". The happy man "is the one that God has chosen him to be a martyr", said bin Laden, who was shown outdoors wearing army fatigues. The authenticity of the video could not be verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of as-Sahab, the Qaeda media production wing. It was not immediately clear when the video of bin Laden was filmed. Bin Laden was last heard on a July 1, 2006, audio tape in which he voiced support for the new leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq and warned nations not to send troops to fight an Islamic regime that had recently seized power in Somalia. The video dedicated to Muslims who have left their homes to fight jihad, included a series of animated scenes showing green fields overlaid with Arabic names written in gold, representing Arab fighters who had died in Afghanistan. Following one such sequence, Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed. the self-proclaimed leader of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, appeared praising his fellow fighters. "Your hero sons, courageous knights have left to the land of Afghanistan", he said, "the land of jihad and martyrdom, answering the call for the sake of God to kick out the occupier who has desecrated the pure soil of Afghanistan". Terrorism suspects arrested The authorities have arrested 35 men suspected of membership in a Qaeda- inspired group that planned to carry out attacks in Egypt, The AP reported from Cairo, quoting a police official. The suspects, all of whom are Egyptian, were secretly arrested in April and are being investigated by the State Security Court, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to media. The men are suspected of joining a group that sought to topple the Egyptian government and carry out attacks financed by a militant organization in Iraq affiliated with Al Qaeda, he said.