* Says Afghan presence "green light" to kill French hostages
* Second bin Laden tape to France in past four months
* France committed to Afghanistan - foreign ministry
(Adds analysis, quote)
By Erika Solomon
DUBAI, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden said in an audio recording that the release of French hostages held in Niger depends on France's soldiers leaving Muslim lands, al Jazeera television reported on Friday.
The pan Arab television station broadcast the tape in which the speaker, who sounded like the al Qaeda head, addressed his message to the French people.
"President Nicolas Sarkozy's refusal to remove his forces from Afghanistan is nothing but a green light for killing the French hostages," he said.
This is the second tape that al Qaeda's leader, believed to be hiding in the mountainous border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, has apparently released blasting French policy and linking the French presence in Afghanistan to the kidnapping of its nationals in Niger. [ID:nLDE6AI1NF]
"Our message to you (the French people) is the same today as it was yesterday: the release of your hostages from the hands of our brothers depends on you removing your soldiers from our lands," he said. "Your president's refusal to leave Afghanistan is the result of his subordination to America."
Seven foreigners, including five French employees of Areva <CEPFi.PA> and Vinci <SGEF.PA>, were kidnapped in Niger in September. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the north African wing of the militant group, claimed responsibility.
AQIM also claimed responsibility last week for two Frenchmen found dead after a failed rescue attempt in Niger in early January, but did not say how the men died. [ID:nLDE70C1R1]
FRANCE "COMMITTED" TO AFGHANISTAN
In Paris, foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said the Bin Laden tape had not yet been authenticated, but he expressed "France's commitment to the international force in Afghanistan".
The Sept. 16 kidnapping was an escalation in the hostilities between the militant group and France. AQIM killed 78-year-old Frenchman Michel Germaneu last July after French commandos took part in a failed raid to free him.
France has eight hostages held across the world, five held by AQIM in Niger, two in Afghanistan held by the Taliban, and one in Somalia.
Unlike Britain and Spain, France has never been attacked by al Qaeda at home, despite being a NATO member that took part in the invasion of Afghanistan and still having troops there.
But analysts say that al Qaeda, and in particular AQIM could pose a growing threat to targets in France, not just French interests in Africa's Sahel, especially if it uses ransom money to develop cells on French territory. [ID:nLDE6AI1NF]
CONTAINED IN THE SAHEL
Analysts suspect al Qaeda senior leaders such as bin Laden would like AQIM to up the stakes in this way, calculating that an attack on French soil will have far greater political impact on the West than killing French citizens in remote areas of impoverished African countries.
For the past three years the group's anti-Western activities have largely been contained to the Sahel area, in part because of heavy pressure from Algerian security services on the group's leadership in northern Algeria where it is based, analysts say.
In the Sahel, in contrast, the group has more freedom, due to weak counter-terrorism cooperation among the region's governments which have been slow to overcome historical mistrust and combine security efforts.
"The result is that the group remains active in the Sahel, but at the same time its activities have so far been confined largely to hostage taking," said Sajjan Gohel of the Asia-Pacific Foundation security research group.
In November 2010 AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel issued a statement saying any negotiations over the release of the hostages should be carried out directly with bin Laden.
Bin Laden's last audio tape to France, released on Al Jazeera in October, also attacked a planned French ban on full-face Islamic veils, a subject also latched onto in reported demands made by the AQIM kidnappers for its repeal. (Editing by William Maclean, David Stamp and Maria Golovnina)
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