BEIRUT, Lebanon: Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah has hit out against recent statements allegedly by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden criticizing the Lebanese movement for allowing "crusader" troops from the UN into Lebanon after the 34-day conflict with Israel in 2006.

In an interview aired on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television channel, Nasrallah said: "The criticism that Osama bin Laden made in his last message proves that we are different … He has the right to criticize us but not to offend us.”

A 56-minute audio message purportedly by bin Laden was released on Islamist websites on 29 December in which he accused Nasrallah of aiding Israel by accepting the deployment of United Nations Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) troops in South Lebanon.

However the Hezbollah leader took the occasion to distance himself and his group from the international terrorist network.

"It's enough for me to say that he has a vision and an opinion and what he said is useful for me and Hezbollah because we have always said that Hezbollah is different from al-Qaeda and we have no links," he said.

"After 11 September [the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States], Israel has been trying to find a link between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda to implicate us in the attacks of 11 September," said Nasrallah.

But the Israelis "have not been able to provide any proof because in reality, we are not linked.”