ping
Where is Osama bin Laden? U.S. zeros in on Chitral, Pakistan in hunt for 9/11 mastermind
Saturday, March 14th 2009
Where's Osama? Try Chitral, once a trekkers' paradise in Pakistan that has been sealed off to outsiders and is now regularly buzzed by American spy drones. The U.S. won't say it officially, but an exhaustive Daily News investigation finds the world's biggest manhunt for the monster who murdered nearly 3,000 people on 9/11 has zeroed in on Chitral's stunning peaks and deep valleys.
Six U.S. and foreign officials confirmed to The News that northwestern Pakistan's impenetrable Hindu Kush mountains - which boast some of the world's tallest climbs - in the Chitral region have been eyed as Bin Laden's hideout since 2006 by Osama hunters aiming for the big kill. A lengthy review of evidence, including recent Predator fly-bys, Bin Laden's tapes since 9/11 and interviews with three dozen experts on Al Qaeda, Pakistan and special operations, point to these vast mountains as the terror chief's most likely haven.
Captured Al Qaeda leaders have given up as his hideout. "Debriefings of Al Qaeda leaders arrested confirmed this," said Rohan Gunaratna, author of "Inside Al Qaeda." Two senior foreign officials said the nearby town of Kalam also is suspect.
Excerpted