Pakistan, US deny capture of Osama's sons

Hindustan Times via AFP ^ | 3/7/03 | Hindustan Times

[Angelus Errare]

Pakistan's Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat on Friday denied reports cited by a provincial minister that two sons of Osama bin Laden had been arrested in a joint operation by Pakistani, Afghan and US forces in southeast Afghanistan near the Pakistani and Iranian borders.

"There is absolutely no truth in this report. There has been no arrest of this nature," Hayat told AFP, dismissing claims by Baluchistan province's home minister home Sardar Sanaullah Zehri.

A report from Quetta said the provincial minister in Baluchistan said he has been informed that two sons of Osama bin Laden were captured in a joint US-Afghan-Pakistani operation.

"I am in constant touch with the security forces. I was informed by intelligence agencies that the reports coming across the border (from Afghanistan) are that two of Osama's sons were caught and they were injured," minister Zehri told reporters in Quetta.

There was no independent confirmation of the reports the minister said he had received.

From Washington, a US official denied the reports of the capture as "not true."

"It's not true," said the US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

[Angelus Errare]

Let the speculation begin.

[Maringa]

I guess we are not going to know for a while, but do they have them or do they not? Was this a ruse for the AQ to detect any problems with their security (flush out informers)? If it is, then OBL and his sons are quite safe and long gone...

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I just love our new Office of Strategic Information!

[xJones]

So Pakistan's Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat basically called Baluchistan province's home minister home Sardar Sanaullah Zehri a liar. Who do you believe, the Paki or the Baluchi? This could make a great South Park episode.

[eastforker]

One thing I do not understand.It keeps being stated this happened in southeast afghanistan near the iran/pakistan border,shouldn't that be southwest afghanistan instead?

[Angelus Errare]

That is a definite possibility.

My personal opinion is that if bin Laden is alive, he and his family are heading as fast as they possibly can to Iran. The ayatollahs have harbored his top commanders before and will have no compunctions about doing so again.

This why Iran must be next after Iraq, IMO.

[Angelus Errare]

Just one thing that popped into my mind.

The MMA, the pro-Taliban Islamic party in Pakistan, won the elections in Pakistan last October. If this Home Minister guy is one of their boys, he could very well be endeavoring to locate informers within al-Qaeda.

[Angelus Errare]

That second "Pakistan" should be Baluchistan.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

What the heck is going on over there in Pakistan?

We have this:

Search Narrows - U.S., Pakistani Officials Center Hunt for Bin Laden on Caravan

I am not sure what to believe!

[Hank Kerchief]

eastforker said: One thing I do not understand.It keeps being stated this happened in southeast afghanistan near the iran/pakistan border,shouldn't that be southwest afghanistan instead?

Angelus Errare said: That second "Pakistan" should be Baluchistan.

As you can see in the map, the Western border of Pakistan and Afghanistan both border Iran. Baluchistan is labeled Balustan in the Map. Balustan extends into Iran. It is an area, not a country.

Hank

[blam]

"What the heck is going on over there in Pakistan?"

Mansoor Ijaz just said on Fox News that part of the problem is than not many in Pakistan know what Bin Laden's sons look like. He did say that we do have something significant after this fire-fight.

[Dog]

I just saw a news blurb on Fox......the raid is in a place called Rabat.....on the border with Afghanistan and Iran..

[Dog]

I am going to go over the some Pakistani news sites...I'll let you know if I find something.

[Angelus Errare]

Good idea.

Here's some more fun from ABC News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Friday cast doubt on reports from Pakistan that two sons of Osama bin Laden were wounded and possibly arrested in an operation by U.S. and Afghan troops in Afghanistan.

"We have no information to substantiate that report," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters. But he said it was "only a matter of time" before bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders are found.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ping me too.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Monsoor is on the O'Reilly radio show (John Gibson) and says they cannot be sure if Bin Laden's son(s) are involved until DNA tests are complete on both the dead islamists and the arrested islamists.

It seems we don't really know what UBL's islamist offspring look like.

[Hank Kerchief]

...the raid is in a place called Rabat...

If there is any place called Rabat in Pakistan or Afghanistan, it must be a local name or a brand new one. It's not in any source I can find, old or new, and the ink is not dry on my latest Nat. Geo. Atlas.

I suspect, whatever the right name is, it is around Turbat, which is not very close to Afganistan, unless it's quite far north.

Hank

[MrsEmmaPeel]

I am not sure what to believe!

I think we got UBL. We just can't keep our "disinformation" straight. Its important not to announce we have UBL until after war with Iraq begins, otherwise, people will scream: "Hey, you've got UBL, no need for war, now."

[TexKat]

Please ping me three. Thank you. If it wasn't for FR, we would be in the dark.

[TexKat]

I think we got UBL. We just can't keep our "disinformation" straight. Its important not to announce we have UBL until after war with Iraq begins, otherwise, people will scream: "Hey, you've got UBL, no need for war, now."

We can only hope.