Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Pakistan 'Lost' Bin Laden Trail

Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf says his country's forces have lost track of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.

Speaking to the BBC, Gen Musharraf said Pakistani intelligence services had their strongest indication about his whereabouts eight to 10 months ago.

He said the dragnet had been closing on Bin Laden along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but he fled.

The president also said he was sure his forces had killed Pakistan's most wanted militant in a recent operation.

But the death of Abdullah Mehsud in the region of North Waziristan has yet to be confirmed, Gen Musharraf said.

Both Bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, are widely believed to be hiding in or close to North and South Waziristan - the restive border regions where the Pakistani army has faced its strongest resistance in its operations against al-Qaeda.

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