Warnings of new attack by al-Qa'ida

US intelligence officials disclosed yesterday that they were picking up indications of another massive attack against the US being planned by Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network, but said they had no idea about the time or place.

The disclosure came as the Bush administration continued to fend off accusations that it could have done more to prevent the atrocities of 11 September.

According to the media reports, the intelligence agencies have noticed an increase in threatening "chatter" in its various intercepts, similar to the signals picked up in the early part of last summer and again on two occasions late last year. It is not known how reliable the information is and there does not appear to be enough concrete data for the US government to respond with specific preventative measures. A senior administration official told The New York Times: "It's again not specific – not specific as to time, not specific as to place."

The Bush administration has certainly shown its determination to remind people of the continuing threat from al-Qa'ida and deflect debate from its possible inattention last summer.

Vice-President Dick Cheney reinforced the point in a television interview yesterday, saying it was "almost a certainty" that there would be another attack on the US.

"It could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, it could happen next year, but they will keep trying. And we have to be prepared," Mr Cheney said. "There's a great temptation ... for people to look back at 11 September and say, 'Well, we haven't been hit in eight months, therefore the threats have receded or gone away.' I don't think that's the case at all."

Mr Cheney and President Bush have had some success in arguing that the White House was not in a position to predict 11 September. But recriminations continue and the roles of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency have come under intense scrutiny.

Meanwhile, an Islamic news agency released video footage yesterday of Osama bin Laden that it said was filmed just two months ago. But the independent Arab television station al-Jazeera said it had seen the tape three or four months ago and believed it was recorded in October.

An American soldier was killed on patrol in eastern Afghanistan last night during the allied forces' latest search for al-Qaida units.