Posted on 06/30/2002 7:06:00 PM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was alive as of late December, which means he survived a U.S. assault on caves in Tora Bora in Afghanistan, Time magazine reported in its editions out on Monday.
Evidence that he was alive came in the form of a letter from him to his operations chief, Abu Zubaydah, which was found among the papers that Zubaydah was carrying when he was arrested in Pakistan in March, Time reported.
The hand-written note urges Zubaydah to continue fighting the United States even if something happens to bin Laden, Time reported citing a source who has seen a French intelligence analysis of it.
Zubaydah is now in U.S. custody.
The letter indicated that bin Laden was still alive as of late December, which meant that he survived a U.S. assault on his Tora Bora cave complex aimed at arresting or killing him. The caves were captured on Dec. 6.
Other papers seized in Zubaydah's hideaway in Faisalabad, Pakistan, include plans for attacks on tankers and cruise ships, Time reported citing Roland Jacquard, a terrorism expert close to the French president's office.
There was also evidence in the papers that bin Laden's son Saad was in Faisalabad, Time reported.
Time also reported that physicians who analyzed photos of bin Laden determined that he probably suffers from secondary osteoporosis, which is often related to diabetes and kidney trouble. Secondary osteoporosis can produce severe back pain and brittle bones subject to easy breakage.
Bin Laden and al Qaeda are blamed for hijack attacks on the United States that killed more than 3,000 people.
Or lied about the date on which it was written.
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