WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released a videotape on the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which he praised one of the hijackers who attacked the United States, CNN reported on Tuesday.

In an interview with CNN, terrorism expert Laura Mansfield said the 47-minute long tape was "geared as a commemorative tape praising one of the hijackers of the 9/11 attacks."

Mansfield said the videotape showed a still image of the al Qaeda leader that looked "very much like he did" in a video released last week.

An Islamist Web site had said on Monday it would show a new video of bin Laden to mark the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

"The first 14 to 15 minutes of the tape are bin Laden," Mansfield said. "The remainder of the tape is Waleed al-Shehri, one of hijackers on 9/11."

She said the video did not include any moving images of bin Laden, but it did include English subtitles.

It was unclear when the video was recorded and the authenticity of the tape could not be immediately confirmed.

Last week, bin Laden issued a video saying the United States was vulnerable and Americans must embrace Islam to avert war.

Security analysts said the message could be a call for new attacks. White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend rejected that view and called bin Laden "virtually impotent."