See #232.
U.S. Denies Iran Report of Bin Laden's Capture
Sat Feb 28, 2004 06:44 AM ET
TEHRAN (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense denied reports by Iran's official IRNA news agency Saturday that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been captured.
IRNA quoted a story on Iran's state radio Pashtun service which reported "a very reliable source" as saying bin Laden had been captured in a tribal area of Pakistan.
A senior U.S. defense official denied the report, telling Reuters it was "another piece of stray voltage that's passing around out there."
Washington says Bin Laden masterminded the September 11, 2001 suicide hijack attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
The Iranian correspondent responsible for the report told Reuters the radio had also reported bin Laden's capture a year ago. But said a new source had told him Friday the al Qaeda leader had been seized "a long time ago."
"It could be one month ago, it could be one year, but he has been arrested," he said.
While declining to reveal his source or how his source knew of the capture, he said: "My source said it and he knows it."
He said the reason U.S. officials had denied the report was so that they could time the release of the news of bin Laden's capture to help boost President Bush's chances of re-election at presidential polls in November.
The U.S. military said this month that U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan were moving toward coordinated operations along the border -- "a hammer and anvil approach" -- to prevent fleeing al Qaeda fighters from escaping simply by crossing from one country into the other.
Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror, has stepped-up efforts in recent weeks against al Qaeda and Taliban fighters as the 10,600-strong U.S. force in Afghanistan gears up for a spring offensive against Islamic militants.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4460014§ion=newsBin Laden 'surrounded'
February 22, 2004
A BRITISH Sunday newspaper is claiming Osama bin Laden has been found and is surrounded by US special forces in an area of land bordering north-west Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Sunday Express, known for its sometimes colourful scoops, claims the al-Qaeda leader has been "sighted" for the first time since 2001 and is being monitored by satellite.
The paper claims he is in a mountainous area to the north of the Pakistani city of Quetta. The region is said to be peopled with bin Laden supporters and the terrorist leader is estimated to also have 50 of his fanatical bodyguards with him.
The claim is attributed to "a well-placed intelligence source" in Washington, who is quoted as saying: "He (bin Laden) is boxed in."
The paper says the hostile terrain makes an all-out conventional military assault impossible. The plan to capture him would depend on a "grab-him-and-go" style operation.
"US helicopters already sited on the Afghanistan border will swoop in to extricate him," the newspaper says. It claims bin Laden and his men "sleep in caves or out in the open. The area is swept by fierce snow storms howling down from the 10,000ft-high mountain peaks. Donkeys are the only transport."
The special forces are "absolutely confident" there is no escape for bin Laden, and are awaiting the order to go in and get him.
http://sundaytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,9353,8752173-28778,00.html