An audio tape purportedly from former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein vows to defeat the United States to avenge the deaths of his two sons by US forces.
"I mourn to you the deaths of Uday and Qusay and those who struggled with them... America will be defeated," said the voice on the tape, aired by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television.
"They...died martyrs in the name of jihad (holy war)," the voice said.
The speech was rambling, breaking off in mid-sentence on occasions, but a Reuters correspondent familiar with Saddam's voice said it sounded like him.
Four other "Saddam tapes" have been aired in the past few weeks, but this was the first to refer to the killing of his two sons by US troops last Tuesday in a bloody raid on a villa in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
"Our intelligence community will analyse (the tape) for its authenticity," said White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan. "One thing that I can vouch for is that (Saddam's) regime is gone. He is gone from power. And we will find him as well."
The US military said troops hunting Saddam had captured three key figures loyal to the former Iraqi leader, including a top bodyguard, and were closing in on Saddam himself.
Washington hopes finding Saddam would help end a guerrilla campaign that has killed 50 US troops since President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1st.
The US military blames die-hard Saddam loyalists for the attacks, and some officers had said they hoped the killing of Uday and Qusay would demoralise anti-American assailants.
But 11 US soldiers have been killed in attacks since Saddam's sons died in a barrage of machinegun fire, grenades, rockets and anti-tank missiles as they mounted a last stand with AK-47 assault rifles.