WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - A new audio message from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was released on Wednesday and is directed at the European Union, a U.S.-based terrorism monitor said.

The message was 5 minutes, 3 seconds long, and played over a still image of bin Laden, said the monitoring service of a U.S. author and analyst who goes by the name Laura Mansfield. (Reporting by Randall Mikkelsen, editing by Todd Eastham)

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