ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf says there are indications Osama bin Laden is alive, and might be hiding in tribal territory on the Pakistani-Afghan border.
The latest speculation on the al Qaeda leader's fate came as Pakistani investigators were interrogating six members of an al Qaeda cell and expected to glean information that would lead to the arrest of more members of the militant group.
Musharraf told the London-based Pakistani satellite channel ARY that it was possible bin Laden could be with a small group of body guards, hiding on the Pakistani or Afghan side of the rugged border.
"Some indications are there that he is not dead but where is he? Nothing can be said about that," Musharraf said in an interview with the television channel. A copy of the interview, to be broadcast in part on Thursday, was obtained by Reuters.
Musharraf said it was possible that bin Laden, who in the past travelled with a large number of body guards, could have given that up in view of the intense hunt for him in Afghanistan and opted for a smaller group.
"If they are in a small group, two, four, eight or 10 people, then they can hide in this side, our side of the tribal area, or hide on the Afghan side. I cannot say with surety," he said.
Many of the ethnic Pasthun people in the semi-autonomous tribal zone bordering Afghanistan supported the former Taliban regime that gave bin Laden sanctuary for years.
The Taliban were ousted in a U.S.-backed offensive in late 2001, launched in response to the September 11 attack on the United States, blamed on bin Laden's al Qaeda.
Pakistan has been a key ally of the United States in its war against terror launched after those attacks.
Bin Laden's whereabouts have been a mystery since before the fall of the Taliban, with some speculation he may have been killed in the war or died of sickness.
Pakistani Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat on Thursday dismissed a media report suggesting bin Laden had been arrested.
YEMENI SUSPECT
Pakistani authorities detained the six militants in a raid in the port city of Karachi on Tuesday when authorities also seized a big haul of explosives and weapons.
The six include Yemeni national Waleed Muhammad Bin Attash, alias Khalid Al-Attash, suspected of involvement in the October 2000 attack on the U.S. warship Cole in Yemen.
A suicide bomber in a small boat attacked the Cole in Aden port, killing 17 U.S. sailors. Washington blamed the attack on al Qaeda, which has had many supporters in Yemen, bin Laden's ancestral home.
Pakistan said in a statement more "revelations" were expected from the group. Authorities found 150 kg (330 lb) of high explosives, detonators, transmitters, time switches, arms and ammunition during the raid that netted the six. Authorities said the group had been planning a major attack.
In Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush said Al-Attash's arrest was "another notable success in the war on terror".
"He's a killer. He was one of the top al Qaeda operatives," Bush said. "He is one less person that people who love freedom have to worry about."
Pakistan says more than 400 members of al Qaeda and the Taliban have been arrested in Pakistan, among them senior al Qaeda members Abu Zubaida and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was suspected of masterminding the September 11 attacks.
In a related development, Pakistan said it would decide for itself how to deal with Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups that the United States has put on a list of terrorist groups.
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday added 11 Islamic organisations to a list of "terrorist groups" that included three pro-Pakistan militant groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region.
"It is not a question of endorsing what the United States has done. We will look at our own circumstances," Interior Minister Hayat told Reuters. "The foremost thing is to have credible proof. If that is there, then certainly we will take action as we have done."
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=279221
The latest speculation on the al Qaeda leader's fate came as Pakistani investigators were interrogating six members of an al Qaeda cell and expected to glean information that would lead to the arrest of more members of the militant group.
Musharraf told the London-based Pakistani satellite channel ARY that it was possible bin Laden could be with a small group of body guards, hiding on the Pakistani or Afghan side of the rugged border.
"Some indications are there that he is not dead but where is he? Nothing can be said about that," Musharraf said in an interview with the television channel. A copy of the interview, to be broadcast in part on Thursday, was obtained by Reuters.
Musharraf said it was possible that bin Laden, who in the past travelled with a large number of body guards, could have given that up in view of the intense hunt for him in Afghanistan and opted for a smaller group.
"If they are in a small group, two, four, eight or 10 people, then they can hide in this side, our side of the tribal area, or hide on the Afghan side. I cannot say with surety," he said.
Many of the ethnic Pasthun people in the semi-autonomous tribal zone bordering Afghanistan supported the former Taliban regime that gave bin Laden sanctuary for years.
The Taliban were ousted in a U.S.-backed offensive in late 2001, launched in response to the September 11 attack on the United States, blamed on bin Laden's al Qaeda.
Pakistan has been a key ally of the United States in its war against terror launched after those attacks.
Bin Laden's whereabouts have been a mystery since before the fall of the Taliban, with some speculation he may have been killed in the war or died of sickness.
Pakistani Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat on Thursday dismissed a media report suggesting bin Laden had been arrested.
YEMENI SUSPECT
Pakistani authorities detained the six militants in a raid in the port city of Karachi on Tuesday when authorities also seized a big haul of explosives and weapons.
The six include Yemeni national Waleed Muhammad Bin Attash, alias Khalid Al-Attash, suspected of involvement in the October 2000 attack on the U.S. warship Cole in Yemen.
A suicide bomber in a small boat attacked the Cole in Aden port, killing 17 U.S. sailors. Washington blamed the attack on al Qaeda, which has had many supporters in Yemen, bin Laden's ancestral home.
Pakistan said in a statement more "revelations" were expected from the group. Authorities found 150 kg (330 lb) of high explosives, detonators, transmitters, time switches, arms and ammunition during the raid that netted the six. Authorities said the group had been planning a major attack.
In Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush said Al-Attash's arrest was "another notable success in the war on terror".
"He's a killer. He was one of the top al Qaeda operatives," Bush said. "He is one less person that people who love freedom have to worry about."
Pakistan says more than 400 members of al Qaeda and the Taliban have been arrested in Pakistan, among them senior al Qaeda members Abu Zubaida and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was suspected of masterminding the September 11 attacks.
In a related development, Pakistan said it would decide for itself how to deal with Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups that the United States has put on a list of terrorist groups.
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday added 11 Islamic organisations to a list of "terrorist groups" that included three pro-Pakistan militant groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region.
"It is not a question of endorsing what the United States has done. We will look at our own circumstances," Interior Minister Hayat told Reuters. "The foremost thing is to have credible proof. If that is there, then certainly we will take action as we have done."
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=279221
