US traces Bin Laden to Afghan border

US traces Bin Laden to Afghan border

August 28 2002 at 10:11AM



New York - US commanders appear to have concluded that Osama bin Laden is moving among mountain hideouts along a 402km stretch of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper cites some American officers as saying the assumption driving the manhunt is that the al-Qaeda leader and his top lieutenant, Ayman al Zawahiri, are alive.

The unidentified sources cited Afghan and Pakistani intelligence reports that have spoken of Bin Laden and an entourage of several dozen moving more than once since the American bombing of the Tora Bora mountains late last year, the Times reported.

Some of those reports have suggested that the fugitives may have moved through the mountains on horseback, probably on cloudy nights to elude aerial surveillance, the newspaper said.

'It's easier to spot a moving target'
The region being searched covers four provinces - Kunar, Nangahar, Paktika and Paktia - and the adjoining Pakistani tribal areas, where suspicions of outsiders run high.

Lieutenant Colonel Roger King said Special Forces units in the region aimed to apply pressure on possible hideouts to keep al-Qaeda on the run.

"I'd say it's a reasonable conclusion that we feel that if Bin Laden is alive, we're providing enough pressure to make sure he keeps moving," King told the Times. "It's easier to spot a moving target."

In public, US officials have for months been unable to confirm or deny that the al-Qaeda leaders, blamed by the Washington for the September 11 attacks, are alive.

to keep moving???no, special operations to go in there and capture whoever the moving targets were?

Unbelievable

Fist off, how can a thread have negative replies? Ok, now I'm not sure how accurate that report is so I'm only going to say that if he's on the run then at lest we’re doing something right.

How can American cash thier seed of profit, deception and control? I hardly think much advance will be taken in regards to this apprehension as his demenour has taken very little lime light after the Iraq war; his 15 minutes of fame are over untill a new and more volatile persons becomes the next apparent reason for the United States Goverment to express more measures of global control.

Luxifero

Yes I agree with this, this is exactly what I've been thinking as well. While looking for work this summer I read quite alot about Afghanistan very interesting history ... the complexities of the local tribal allegiances in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are such that it is very easy for him to move around with the local people helping him out.

There is in fact another figure, by the name of Daewood Ibrahim, who has been theorized to help provide Bin Laden with the ability to move around Pakistan freely. He's a sketchy black market heroin drug and crime lord originally from India and is connected with a corrupt branch of the ISI (Pakistan's CIA).

Funny, I thought bin Laden died almost 4 years ago. I hardly think dialysis machines would have extension cords that drag all through the mountains....