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Bin Laden dead, says comrade ( 15 Sep 02 )
heraldsun ^ | 15sep02 | Leo Schlink

Posted on 09/14/2002 7:06:10 PM EDT by Ranger

OSAMA bin Laden's supporters say the al-Qaeda leader is dead.

Shahid Ayan, who was hiding in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountains with bin Laden during United States air raids in December, said the terrorist chief died 10 months ago.

"Yes, Osama bin Laden is dead, but the jihad will continue until Judgment Day," he told United Arab Emirates newspaper Al Bayan.

Shahid said that late on December 10 – "the 24th night of Ramadan" – there were "some scary explosions" in the area where bin Laden's cave was located.

"The cave was completely erased from the ground and became nothing," he said.

"This was the only cave of the 15 that was destroyed by an enormous 52ft (16m) missile and there is no doubt that bin Laden died."

Shahid said bin Laden had taken refuge in the caves on November 15 with about 320 fighters.

US forces bombarded the area with laser-guided bombs and AGM-142s – television-guided missiles with earth-shattering warheads.

Pakistani intelligence sources last placed bin Laden in a 25-vehicle convoy travelling from Jalalabad in Afghanistan to Tora Bora in November.

Bin Laden then appeared on a video released in December, when he appeared ill and had trouble using his left arm – prompting speculation he had been wounded in the bombing.

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, the subject of a recent al-Qaeda assassination attempt, was yesterday quoted as saying he believed bin Laden was dead.

"The more we do not hear or him or see any signal of his whereabouts or survival, (the more) we are likely to believe he is not alive," Mr Karzai said.

But US intelligence officers are sceptical of the reports, which were also carried on al-Jazeera television, which bin Laden frequently uses to address his followers.

The station yesterday carried a statement from Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar who pledged Islamic rule would return to Afghanistan.

"America won't enjoy Afghanistan or find comfort in it until it leaves ashamed," he said. "We reassure Muslims everywhere that we are abiding by the pledge and that victory is coming."