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Bin Laden 'may be in Afghan south'

From correspondents in Islamabad, Pakistan
July 05, 2005

AL-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his close allies might be hiding in southern Afghanistan, which has seen a sharp rise in militant violence in recent weeks, a Pakistani minister said in remarks published today.

The whereabouts of bin Laden, architect of the September 11 attacks, and top militants such as his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, are not known but they are suspected of hiding along the rugged Afghan-Pakistani border.

Although both close US allies, tension has risen between Afghanistan and Pakistan over Afghan and US military accusations that militants launch attacks into Afghanistan from the safety of Pakistan.

Afghan and US officials there also say bin Laden is not in Afghanistan, suggesting he must be in Pakistan. Pakistani officials insist he is not in their country.

Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao again ruled out the possibility that bin Laden was in Pakistan and said the fugitive leader and his allies might be hiding in Afghanistan's restive south.

"The possibility of Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden and his close aide, Ayman al-Zawahri, hiding in that area cannot be ruled out," Mr Sherpao told the Pakistani state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.

Southern parts of Afghanistan were not under effective control of the Afghan government, he said.

The former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, told a news conference in Kabul last month he did not believe bin Laden or Omar were in Afghanistan, though he did not say where he thought they were.

Shortly afterwards, CIA Director Porter Goss said he had an excellent idea where bin Laden was hiding but he would not be brought to justice until weak links in counter-terrorism efforts were strengthened.

Southern Afghanistan was a powerbase for the Taliban until they were ousted in a US-led offensive in late 2001. Since then, the region has been a hotbed of Taliban activity.

Hundreds of people, most of them militants but including government and US troops and civilians, have been killed in the south and east of Afghanistan since a new wave of violence began in March.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15831950%255E1702,00.html