Syrian-born Tayseer Alouni, a correspondent for Arabic TV channel al-Jazeera, was detained on the orders of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon as part of an investigation into Islamic militant activity in Spain.

He was one of the few reporters allowed to work under Afghanistan's Taleban regime, and interviewed the al-Qaeda leader there in October 2001.

The pictures - the first new footage of Osama Bin Laden for more than a year - show the al-Qaeda leader and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri walking in an indistinct mountain landscape. The images were probably recorded in April or May, al-Jazeera says.

Neither man speaks on the videotape, but on an accompanying audio tape a voice purported to be that of Bin Laden praises the 11 September attackers and warns "what you have seen so far is only the first skirmishes".

The request follows a decision by a judge to allow Mr Moussaoui to question three high-level al-Qaeda suspects in US detention. The government says such access could compromise national security.

In another development, the US administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer announces that 19 suspected al-Qaeda members have been detained.

The suspects are among 248 foreign fighters being held. The US says it believes foreign fighters may be infiltrating Iraq and carrying out attacks on Western targets.