The video of Osama bin Laden that the United States released last week may have been devastating. But the government apparently omitted even more self-incriminating passages from the so-called smoking gun tape, as well as a section that could deeply embarrass Saudi Arabia, a key American ally.

The fresh material emerges from new translations commissioned by several US news organisations. It contains a more detailed account by Mr bin Laden of the enthusiastic reception in Saudi clerical circles to the successful attack, as well as the mention by name of at least two more hijackers.

There is also a claim by the visiting sheik, Khalid al Harbi, who was attending the dinner in Kandahar in early November depicted on the video, that he was helped into Afghanistan by a member of the Saudi government's religious police.

Why the new evidence was not disclosed with the original tape is not clear The official explanation is likely to be that the Pentagon, which handled the operation and had four independent translators examine the tape, only put out material on which all four could agree. But there is bound to be speculation that Washington wants to protect Saudi Arabia, already smarting from the criticism it has suffered since the attacks.

Of the 19 hijackers of 11 September, 15 had Saudi passports. Mr bin Laden praises two of them, the brothers Nawaf and Salem Alhazmi, by name. "May God accept their action," the fugitive terrorist leader says of the Alhazmis, who were aboard the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon.

At another point, Mr bin Laden expands on how he awaited news of the attacks. "When you hear a breaking news announcement on the radio, kneel immediately," he claims to have told the people with him on 11 September. "That means they have hit the World Trade Centre."