Washington ? The new audiotape of Osama bin Laden is an authentic, unedited and recent recording of the al-Qaida leader, U.S. intelligence officials said Monday after completing a technical and linguistic analysis.

The CIA and National Security Agency, which conducted the study, concluded the tape is what it seems: bin Laden himself, reading a statement that promises new terrorism against the United States.

It was the first definitive evidence in almost a year that bin Laden survived the U.S.-led war on his home of Afghanistan in the months after 9-11.

The audio message gives little clue to bin Laden’s location or his health, intelligence officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Some have wondered if he used audio, instead of video, to conceal injuries, sickness or a change in appearance.

Officials believe he is probably hiding in a remote mountainous region along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There have been rumors that bin Laden was wounded or suffered some kind of kidney ailment.

Officials are unsure why bin Laden chose now to speak. Perhaps he has recovered from an injury or at last feels secure enough in his location to put out a message to his followers.

In the message, bin Laden apparently refers to the killing of a U.S. diplomat in Amman, Jordan, on Oct. 28, which is the most recent event he noted. It is unknown if al-Qaida orchestrated the killing.

Previously, the last certain evidence bin Laden was alive was recorded on Nov. 9, 2001, when he had dinner with some followers. A videotape of the meal was recovered by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

U.S. intelligence has confirmed several tapes released earlier in 2002 to have come from bin Laden. However, because those tapes gave no reference to recent events, they provided no confirmation of whether al-Qaida’s leader was still alive.